Title: Missing 16/?
Author: sharonmjl47
Rating: NC-17
Category: Movieverse.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, and no one. Sad, isn’t it!
Feedback: Please, bad or good. If no one tells me it’s bad, I won’t know!
**********************
Jean stood stock still, back straight to the wall, her slender arms crossed neatly over her chest. She watched, afraid to move, afraid to be noticed, so she watched as Sebastian trashed his office. She jumped as he slid his hands across his desk sending his papers, pencils and other things, including the lamp, sailing to the floor. Then he roared and upended the desk on its side.
He whirled on her, making her jump again as he caged her in with his arms. “HOW? How could they have known Jean? You’re a smart woman, tell me? They knew that we were coming!”
“I don’t know.” Her voice was quiet. He had been angry before, violent even, but it had always been sexually motivated. This was different.
“You, YOU, said that we could trust her! YOU said that she would get our people in. And what happens? It all goes wrong. She got Bandit shot and Callisto arrested and detained by bio-hazard security, which means that little witch told them everything, the entire plan, your adaptation of the clemency virus, everything.”
He walked away from her and picked up a glass off the floor he had knocked over earlier, then he threw it against the far wall.
“We don’t know how much she told them, she might not have mentioned either of us. Emma has been the closest person to me for years, she wouldn’t just….”
Jean’s voice was silenced by the back of Sebastian’s hand. “You are not the only person to have contacts, people on the inside. I have had a man there for months, keeping an eye on your precious little Emma. While you were watching Callisto getting herself dragged away on the news, he called. Yes, they were meant to get caught, but not before they started my epidemic! The President was tipped off, by *Xavier*, he apparently pin-pointed Emma as a possible threat to security. They cornered her, and then she sang like a bird released. She told them everything, Jean, every last detail. That you had used the cover of the research hospital to cultivate the human-virus, that said hospital was funded by the estate of the late – great Magneto, and then she told them about *me*! They have shut down and seized the hospital. Your friend has ruined everything! Do you know how long I have been a secret? Years! I’m surprised that I can’t hear the sirens coming for me now!”
“Sebastian, I’m sorry…”
“I want Xavier’s head! We’re paying them a visit, now!”
“That’s not a good idea, the entire team will be there….”
“His precious team is still mingling in the Oval office. We only have five agents left, gather them, that mansion won’t know what’s hit it. Is Creed’s chip activated?”
“Yes, I activated it half an hour ago, it should be taking effect now.”
“Good!”
“Sebastian?”
“My father could never finish off Xavier, but I will, him and all his little children. The sample of clemency you had for testing, how much do you have left?”
She swallowed, knowing why he wanted it and for the first time in years, she lied for the right reason. “It’s all gone.”
Sighing, he walked to his upturned desk and took out a small handgun from one of the drawers. “Shame, I’ll have to kill him the old-fashioned way. Set the self-destruct for five minutes, have everyone meet on the roof by the helicopter. We’re going right now and once and for all I’m finishing this!”
“What about your mother? She’s still locked in her room, but we can’t leave her in the house when the detonators go off…”
When he spoke his voice was cold and detached and more frightening than anything else Jean had ever heard. “I killed my father because he was too old and too weak to stand against them anymore, so what makes you think I care about her? Her carcass stays in this house. When the detonators go off, MY Brotherhood will have one less human to worry about!”
***************
Marie paced in Xavier’s office listening to the Professor on the speaker phone. Hank sat behind the desk, hands clasped tight in anger. Scott had passed on congratulations from the President and told the Professor the details. Both Hank and Marie couldn’t believe what they were hearing. That Magneto had a son, who was hell bent on genocide, that Jean had engineered the Clemency virus to attack humans and about the private hospital lab being a front for Jean’s work.
“So it’s over?”
“To all intense and purposes Hank, yes, and I believe members of the FBI and CIA are currently shutting down the hospital for investigation. So far they have found the body of a congressman that went missing a few months ago, evidence of Jean’s new virus apparently. There is a large property, also owned by Erik’s estate, that both agencies are on their way to, hoping to apprehend Jean and this man.”
Marie stopped pacing. “Are the guys on their way back?”
“Scott said that they are on their way. Apparently they have been running over a couple of other security issues with the President and his staff, they should be back within the next hour. How is our guest?”
“Still asleep the last time I looked, but I’ll go and check now.” She turned and went out the door, shutting it behind her knowing that Hank would want to get his anger out of his system privately. She chuckled to herself - he would rant and rave onto the Professor for a long time, setting the world to rights before he calmed down.
*************
He watched her stomp towards the door and sighed. “Louise, I…”
“What?” Louise scowled at Victor. “Victor, I’ve said everything I wanted to say. If you have something to add, spit it out.”
“I can’t help who I am.”
Louise shook her head, then looked down the hall. She could hear voices and footsteps, which she presumed were her mother and Hank taking the far corridor towards the Professor’s office. She had never been in the mansion when no one else was there. It echoed strangely.
“I don’t want you to change who you are Victor, but accepting it would be a nice start. I mean - for god’s sake, what is so wrong with admitting that you actually have feelings?”
“What the fuck is with you? Don’t you understand? Before all this shit, my life was nothing but killing people for someone else’s cause. Every piece of underground scum knew my face and most probably where I crashed every night. I was untouchable, no way to get to me, no way to get past me. What do think would have happened if I had a *girlfriend*? She’d be dead. So I don’t do *feelings*!”
Walking to him she smiled and put he hands on top of his. “Things are different now…”
He shook her of with a rough growl. “God you are so fucking naive! Things look different on the surface, but the world is just the same underneath. It always will be. I played the good little dog for Magneto for years, then he taught me to be the wolf. I don’t want to go back to being the wolf.”
“What? A wolf?”
“A wolf is only a safe pet when it thinks it’s a dog. When it finds out it’s really a wolf, there’s no stopping it. I don’t want that Louise, but I don’t know how to change… I don’t know how to…” He put his head down and rubbed his temples, groaned slightly, leaned against the wall behind him.
“Victor…?” Standing in front of him she tried to move his hands so she could look at his face. He was worrying her, scaring her and confusing her. When she opened up her mutation briefly, he gave her a jolt of pure aggression and she stumbled back from him. “Victor?”
Panic started to creep into her as Victor raised his head and met her eyes. Tilting is head to one side his nostrils flared. She took a step back when he growled, low and menacing, his lips curling away to show his fangs. Now she noticed how very sharp they looked.
She backed away another step to the doorway and he followed, getting low to the ground and growling again, a thick sound that rumbled towards her. Doing the only thing she could think of she turned on her heal and ran. Creed was too fast for her and within a couple of strides he caught her leg and both of them fell to the ground as she screamed, hitting her face on the hardwood floor, splitting her lip.
Another loud growl echoed in the hallway as he grabbed the back of her head by her hair and snarled in her ear. She screamed again as he flipped her over and wrapped one large hand around her throat. Gasping for every breath she clawed at his hand, but it made no difference. She knew he could snap her neck in an instant and that for some reason the beast was playing with her.
Her mind was reeling as her face began to redden dangerously, not being able to get his hand away she brought her knee up in a last-ditch attempt to get him off. It worked, her knee connected with his groin, and yelping like a wounded puppy he moved off of her. Gasping for air Louise scrambled desperately to her feet and ran down the corridor towards the dining hall as fast as she could.
It wasn’t until she burst through the double doors and looked around the wide-open space of the hall that she realised she should have run the other way, towards her mother and Hank. There was nothing to hide her, nothing to barricade the door. She had been trained in hand-to-hand by Logan, but she knew against Creed that alone wouldn’t be enough.
Hearing him snarling as he came down the corridor she grabbed the first thing she saw, a large fire extinguisher just inside the door. As Creed crashed through the door she swung it upwards at his head, connecting it with his jaw, forcing him backwards. The moment was almost comic as he staggered and shook his head, Louise using his confusion to bring the extinguisher back round into his stomach. As he doubled over, she smashed him over the back of the head with it, dropped it and ran. This time she headed for Xavier’s office.
*********
Marie reached the library and wandered around inside. “Where the hell are they?” Walking back out to the hall she turned the corner and was knocked over by Louise, both sent sprawling on the floor. “Louise, what the fuck?”
“Victor… his head, the chip… Mom it’s on! He’s psycho!”
“Where is he now?” Marie got to her feet and helped up Louise.
“I hit him with a fire extinguisher in the cafeteria, but he won’t be down for long.”
“Shit. Let’s go, this way.”
They made it to the Professor’s office, just as Hank hung up the phone. “My stars! Are you two alright?”
“No. That chip is activated ‘nd Creed’s gone nuts. Hank, tell me you brought some tranquilliser up with you?”
“No, I didn’t, and Charles doesn’t want anyone going down no matter what the situation.” Hank stopped and looked around. “What’s that sound?”
A low whirring sound echoed around them and was growing louder. Hank suddenly realised what it was and dove for both women. “GET DOWN!” All three hit the floor of the office just as a large arrow crashed through the window and stabbed into the back wall.
“What the fuck was that?” They heard another whirring noise and then another thud as a second arrow found its way into the back of Xavier’s desk. “Okay! Let’s get outta here!”
“My dear Marie, I have never agreed with you more.” They scrambled to the door then onto their feet, as they reached the main hall an explosion ripped open the front door and shattered through the hall.
Louise fell to the floor and was showered with debris. “Hank get her out of here. I’ll deal with this!”
Hank helped Louise to her feet then ran with her towards the rear of the mansion and the gym, leaving Marie with the intruders. Before they turned the corner, Louise stopped and looked at her mother. She stood in the centre of the entrance hall facing the door, pulled her sweater over her head and tossed it aside revealing a yellow bodysuit with green edging. Louise watched as her mother levitated, fists balled, ready. She smiled as Hank grabbed her and they ran again.
The first through the main door was a tall man with dark hair and strange marks on his face like a tribal tattoo. He had several small knives strapped to his belt. Marie flew a little higher and stared down at the man.
“Get outta my house!”
He smiled and drew a dagger. “Mmm… not a lady I have seen before. Madam, we’re alike, mutants. Surrender the Professor and you will not perish.”
“Alike? Sugar, the only thing we have in common is that we can both stand up, and trust me, soon we won’t even have that!”
“Very well.” Quicker than any average person, human or mutant, he threw a knife aimed at her chest. Catching it easily Marie spun around in a circle and threw the dagger full strength back at him.
It hit him in the chest and sent him sailing backwards with its force, the point of the dagger appearing out of his back and lodging into what was left of the doorframe behind him.
He spluttered at her. “Who are you?”
“I’m Rogue, honey, and I am so back!” She landed on her feet and walked away from him, a smile on her lips and a defiant swing to her hips.
Another explosion rocked the side of the mansion. She ran towards it, rounding the corner in time to see two female mutants crash through the debris. One in a white top with purple hair and another with long back hair that was in dreads and it somehow seemed to move on its own.
“Well, more intruders. So, ladies, wanna play?”
“Where is Xavier?”
“Yeah, ‘cause it’s gonna be that easy!” She launched herself at them both, but the one with dreads was faster, swung her head and her dreads came to life, wrapping themselves around Marie fists, lifting her and pinning her to the wall.
“Go find the old man, I’ll deal with this amateur!” White top girl ran off, leaving Marie pinned against the wall by the other girl’s hair.
“Amateur? Girlie, I’m an old hand.” Marie tore hard enough to rip off part of the girl’s scalp and pushed her backwards, then punched her in the face. They exchanged blows in the hallway, taking out a couple of prize pieces of antique furniture in the process. Marie managed to dodge the girl’s hair, in the end grabbing it and wrapping it around her opponent’s neck and holding her until she passed out. She stepped back from the girl and took a deep breath. The hum of a jet engine made her smile. “Thank god for that!”
*******
When the elevator opened Logan, Scott, Liam and Betsy darted through the main entrance. Noticing the man nailed to the doorframe Logan smirked. “That’s my girl.” Turning to Scott: “I think we should split up. Me and Liam head back through the house and you and Bets take upstairs.”
Scott put his hands on his hips. “How about just once we pretend that I’m in charge.”
“Okay, oh fearless whatever, what’s your plan?”
“Well, um, we probably need to split up.”
“Sorry what? I didn’t catch that.”
“Just shut up and go! Come on Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth? Scott, even my parents didn’t call me that!”
“Can we argue about that later?”
“Sure, but I’m not letting it go. I hate Elizabeth!”
Liam chuckled and followed his father as they doubled back through the house towards the gym, leaving the other two to argue about Psylocke’s name. As they passed one of the large classrooms, usually used for drama, the door burst through and a girl with a white top and purple hair hurtled backwards, hit the far wall then fell to the floor with a loud thud.
Marie stepped through the broken classroom door and rolled her shoulders, Logan couldn’t stop the lecherous grin that spread across his face. “Havin’ fun darlin’?”
“Liam!” She ran past Logan and straight into hugging her son, relieved at seeing him safe and all in one piece.
“Mom? I kinda need to breathe.”
“Sorry. You both ok?”
“We’re fine darlin’. Where’s Louise?”
“She ran off with Hank when the fun started. Sabretooth is loose somewhere and we’re under attack from outside. I’ve taken out three so far, but I don’t know how many there are.”
“Chuck said that Jean is here somewhere with buckethead’s son, but he can’t get a lock on the bastard - something about mental blocks. We don’t know what he can do, so we need to watch our backs.” Liam was about to say something, but stopped short as all the lights went out and the emergency lights flickered on, leaving everything in an eerie glow. “They’ve hit the main power grid, it’s all off.”
“What about the professor and the kids?”
“Liam, it’s fine, the emergency generator gives priority to down there. All the codes and everything will still work, nothing will get through.”
Logan put his hand on her cheek and smiled down at her. “You sure you’re ok?”
Returning his smile she pushed her cheek into his hand, her eyes lost in his. “I’m fine, now you’re here.”
“Um, Mom, Dad, I think we may have a small problem… erm… well, a big, hairy, snarling problem.”
Both looked in the direction the Liam was pointing. The end of the corridor was dark and Marie couldn’t make out much, just maybe a pair of eyes, dark eyes, glistening. “Is that…”
Logan was in front of them in an instant with his claws out, gleaming dangerously in the half-light. “Yeah, it is. Get outta here, find Hank and Lou.”
“Can you handle this?”
He looked away from Sabertooth and met her eyes. The silence between them that stretched for a few seconds said everything. He didn’t know and it scared him, scared him to know that after so long he had found her again, they had found each other and there might not be a future. “Go.” She nodded slowly, but couldn’t bring herself to say anything - right now everything would sound like some kind of goodbye.
They backed away from Logan and Sabertooth leaving them to their feral battle. The minute Marie heard the first growl, the first clash of bodies and scrap of claws she turned on her heel to go back.
“Liam find your sister and….” Long black dreads whipped around her legs and brought her down before she could finish her sentence. She rolled onto her back and flipped herself to her feet, shaking of the dreads as she went. The girl stepped out in front of her crouching low to the ground. “Liam, go, I have this.”
“Mom…”
“GO!”
*******
“Hank! BEHIND YOU!” Hank managed to turn, but couldn’t avoid the punch bag as it hit him lengthways, the force of it slamming his large frame into the wall behind him. He left a sizeable indent as he fell unconscious to the floor.
Louise took a few steps back further into the gym and looked around. She could see the wide space of the basketball court, the high seating, the supply room at the end, but she couldn’t see where the bag had come from.
“Who’s there?” She couldn’t see much with the lights out, but she did hear the section of seating start to creak behind her. Spinning round she saw it was about to tip, but she was frozen. What felt like a gorilla wrapped around her and hit her from the side, pushing her hard to the floor and out of the way of the falling seating.
“Lou, Lou!”
“Get off you big lug, I’m fine!” Liam pushed to his feet and helped her up.
“Liam, there’s someone in here.”
Again the pair went sailing, but this time another person hit them both from the side. Liam was the first to his feet again, letting his spirals wrap around him right up to his shoulders. He was almost immediately hit in the stomach, then the face, them their invisible assailant swept his feet out from under him.
While Liam tried to fight thin air Louise ran over to Hank to check him. Hank was breathing, but she couldn’t rouse him. She took off her zip jacket and put it under her head to try and make him comfortable, then went to help Liam.
He was standing in the centre of the court looking around him wildly. Blood came from his nose and his eyebrow. “How are we supposed to fight something you can’t see?”
“You listen.” She put her back to his and then smiled as she realised she probably had the answer all along. “Or you feel.” She put her hands out letting her mutation take over. White light spread around her as she began to breathe heavily in a bid to control it. To the left of them the silhouette of a man shimmered strangely. “LIAM!” Liam leapt at the man and Louise kept her mutation going so that Liam could see him, but she couldn’t hold it for very long and soon she was on her knees sweating and struggling to breathe.
Suddenly Liam was lifted into the air and grasped at his throat like a giant was holding him there. “LIAM!” The invisible man showed himself and grabbed her by the hair, held small knife to her throat he had quickly produced out of his boot.
Jean walked slowly from the shadows of the door, her hand held in front of her keeping Liam locked above them. “Shall I kill him now?”
Louise thought the man’s voice was hard and cold and when she strained her eyes to look at him as he walked in behind Jean, she knew he was just that, cold and hard and evil. “Take the boy and throw him off the roof. I have a few questions for this one.” Jean nodded and walked out of the gym holding Liam in the air in front of her.
Sebastian walked directly to Louise. Invisible Man jerked her head up to look at him properly. Another man stood with Sebastian. He was tall, wore purple leather and carried a long bow. “Where is Charles Xavier?”
“Second star to the right and straight on till morning… ah!”
“Very good.” He nodded at Invisible Man who let her down, then he slapped her hard across her face and again nodded for her to be picked back up get the knife put back to her throat, a little harder this time. “Let’s try again. Where is Charles Xavier?”
******
Logan opened his eyes slowly with a load groan and looked around. The corridor was a mess, smashed bits of wall, claw marks every where, blood and broken furniture. But no Sabertooth. As he got to his feet he could feel his stomach and insides burning as his healing worked double time to fix everything. He stumbled once, but then got to his feet and cracked his neck, which made him swear and see stars.
He could smell in which direction the Cat Man had gone and with a snarl began to follow. Before he found anything or even got more than a few hundred yards he had to duck out of the way of a girl with long black dreads who hit the wall beside him. “AND STAY DOWN!”
“You wanna watch where you’re throwing things.”
“Logan, shit, are you ok?”
“Will be. Son of a bitch got away from me.”
Marie touched his face and then his uniform jacket. “Not before he tore seven shades of shit outta ya though!”
“Come on, we have to find him and the kids.” Marie swung his arm across her shoulder, but he suddenly pulled her back. They both stood and watched as Jean walked towards them with Liam dangling helplessly in the air.
Marie whispered. “I’ll fly up for him, you take her out.”
“With fucking pleasure!”
Jean jumped as she saw a green blur snatch Liam out of her telekinetic grasp. The minute Liam was out of the way, Logan rounded he corner with a roar, drew his claws and was about to run her through when a thin optic beam caught Jean on the shoulder and threw her back against the panelled wall with a scream.
“Guess this ones all yours, Slim.”
“Guess so.”
Logan ran up to the end of the hall to Marie and Liam. She was rubbing his back to help him breathe properly again. “Louise…. *cough cough*…. gym!” She exchanged a look with Logan and nodded for him to go, then she briefly concentrated on Scott shout at Jean.
Jean grasped her shoulder and gave Scott a wide-eyed stare. “How could you! I was your wife!”
“Yes, yes you were. I married you, in a church in front of a priest, our friends and God and you didn’t even care when you tried to have sex with another man, in MY bed! Not only that you used your mutation against one of your team-mates, one of your friends - you taunted Rogue and ruined seven years of her life. And then, what about her and Logan’s children, have you ever thought that what you did ruined their lives as well? No Jean, I bet you haven’t given any of it a second thought.”
“Scott please…. I… I am sorry, I never meant for this all to go so far, I wanted to get revenge and I….”
“Revenge!” He shook his head and punched Jean in the face. She yelped and fell to the floor.
Marie was shocked that he’d hit a woman like that, but she didn’t blame him. After everything she had done Marie felt like hitting Jean herself. Several times, in fact. “Feel better?”
Scott laughed. “Actually, yes.” He grabbed a lamp that had been smashed and ripped the cable off. “Come on, help me tie her up and then we can help the others.” As they set about immobilising Jean, Logan was running for the gym as fast as he could, not realising that another was getting there first.
Unable to stop herself from yelping in pain as he hit her again, she fought back her tears, determined not to show him that he hurt her. “Where is Charles Xavier? In one of the rooms, an outbuilding or underground, perhaps? It would benefit you to tell me because I doubt you’re enjoying this as much as I am.” The man with the bow raised it and spun round behind him, pointing the arrow at the main door.
“What is it?”
“I heard something.”
“Both of you look around. Leave the girl to me.” Louise couldn’t help the small breath of relief she blew out when the invisible man let go of her hair. He immediately disappeared, going in search of what the arrow man had heard. She watched him pace towards the seating and the narrow walkway between it. “I will ask you once more, before I simply kill you out of boredom. Where is Charles Xavier?”
A loud menacing snarl was followed by the sound of a man being hit and then falling to the floor, then the unmistakable sound of claws tearing through his windpipe. Sebastian grabbed her by the shoulder and held her in front of him. She struggled against him at first, but when he pushed a small gun under her chin, she stilled.
“Barton, Invo, get out here!” Only the man with the bow emerged from behind the seating, his bow still raised. “What’s in there?”
“I only caught a glimpse as it took out Invo. It’s big.”
A crash outside the gym and down the corridor took their attention away for a split second, just enough time for Sabertooth to charge all three and knock them to the ground.
Arrow Man was unmoving, but Sebastian tried to get to his feet and reach his gun. Sabertooth stood in between him and Louise, not sure where to leap next. Louise could tell he was confused and would lash out in a second. She was still on the ground and scooted back a little further away to make Sebastian an easier target.
Sabertooth snarled at him as he raised the gun and fired it into Sabertooth’s chest. “NO!” Louie couldn’t stop herself from shouting. Sabertooth took a swipe at the gun before he fell backwards and landed with a huge thump, clutching at his chest, rolling and snarling in pain. The weapon slid away from Sebastian, leaving him defenceless against the huge beast.
“BARTON! BARTON! Shoot it! NOW!” Arrow Man rose and saw Sabertooth raising to his knees snarling towards Sebastian again. Raising his bow, he got off one shot, but because he was still a little dizzy it only hit Sabertooth in the shoulder making him snarl and howl in pain again.
Louise screamed again and began to shake. “No, not now!” She could once again feel the enormous pressure building up inside her, she struggled with it as her hands shook, her teeth began to chatter as her body shook and it was all to much. Her head flew backwards and she let go. All her own emotions, the ones she’d picked up from others that she thought had faded, the fear and pain and hate in the room around her, she could feel everything.
She could feel her father running to her, desperate not to be too late; she could feel her mother’s fear for her love and her children; there was Scott’s anger and sense of betrayal and his love for a women he felt he should hate; Sabertooth’s rage, hatred and inner struggle with himself. She could feel the Professor and Psylocke trying to reach out to her to calm her, she could feel Hank slowly regaining consciousness. The children, all the students and their mixed emotions, she could feel it all, even as far out as the small houses that surrounded the Mansion grounds and the people on the street.
Paralysed in a sitting position, her head back, mouth open, she couldn’t move and couldn’t stop it, the rush in some ways amazing and in other too much o bear. A white glow slowly began to surround her, then like a glowing sea amoeba it spread around the room, touching the others and enveloping them.
Screaming from the pain of the white glow Sebastian clawed at his skin as if the glow burnt him, then yelled at his arrow man to kill her. “DO IT NOW, BEFORE SHE KILLS US ALL!”
Logan crashed through the door just in time to see the arrow man fire off four arrows at once, tried to follow them as if in slow motion towards his daughter, saw that he wouldn’t get there in time he roared: “NOOOOOOOO!”
Sabertooth watched the arrows as well and with a viscous snarl leaped to his feet and crashed into Louise, landing on top of her and covering her with his body as all four arrows simultaneously thumped into his back. Looking up at him, she saw that it was Victor who had saved her, not the uncontrollable animal he had been moments ago. She stared at him, both of them surrounded by her white, glowing dreamlike light. He tried to speak, but he couldn’t seem to find the words. A drop of blood fell from his lips and landed on her cheek as he opened his mouth again, his voice edged with pain. “Felt…you…”
She nodded, a small smile crossing her lips. “I know.” She touched his lips with the tips of her fingers like she had done earlier in the library. Blood coloured her fingers, then his head slumped forward onto her chest and his body slipped to one side. She turned them over and touched his face as she began to sob.
Anger filled her as she turned to the arrow man, balled her hands into fists and screamed, her eyes shut but the tears still falling. The Mansion shook and in a shock wave, the white light that had been glowing around Louise flew out from her like the explosion of a nuclear bomb and raced away to the edges of the mansion grounds. As it passed through the Arrow Man it disintegrated him into pieces of ash just as Louise passed out and Logan caught her before she hit the floor.
ONE YEAR LATER……..
“Goddamn tie!” A soft knock at the door makes him forget the dress tie for the moment. “Yeah, come in.”
“Hey dad, how you doing?”
“NOT fuckin’ GOOD! Can you help me with this?”
Louise chuckles at him. “If it will stop you from growling at it.” Then she’s smiling at him - as she puts his black tie into a perfect bow, she can’t help but think that this day has been a long time coming.
“Scott back yet?”
“No, we’re still waiting for him. He called about twenty minutes ago, apparently there was an accident on the freeway that’s why there’s so much traffic. He’ll be here, don’t worry.”
“Can’t someone just pick him up in the jet?”
“I don’t think the Professor would approve. Where’s Scott been anyway?”
“Where do you think?”
With a small sigh she shakes her head and then perches on the end of her parent’s huge silk-covered bed. “I thought he wasn’t going to visit Jean in prison anymore.”
“Yeah well, guess it’s hard for him.”
“He still loves her?”
“Yeah. You can’t choose the person you fall in love with.” Logan saw her head drop and sat down next to her, putting his arm around her gently.
“Look… we never really talked about Creed.”
“You mean you actually want to.”
“No, but… Lou, he was dangerous, unpredictable, an asshole and he should never have been here. Chuck should have known better, we all should, but he saved your life and I… I have to thank him for that.”
“Begrudgingly.”
He chuckled a little. “Damn right begrudgingly. You think I actually want to owe Sabertooth anything? He was part of the original Brotherhood, the one that tried to kill your mother when good old Mags was in charge.”
“You know, I kind of feel sorry for Magneto.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, I mean he changed, he acknowledged that the government had got it right and he disbanded the Brotherhood. They even pardoned him for it. Then his son, a real, real whack-job, kills him, tries to commit genocide and kills his own mother to boot. It’s crazy. He’s crazy.”
“That’s why he’s in a maximum security nut-hut.”
“What was his mutation anyways?”
“Levitation.” He laughed, got up and checked his tie in his mirror again.
“Levitation? He was going to take over the world with levitation? How crappy is that?”
“Very crappy.”
She sat silently for a few moments watching him fuss with his tie and pull his collar about. He was uncomfortable, he hated the suit, he hated the tie, he hated looking like a penguin, but he was doing it, for Marie, for his family. Then she wondered if Victor would have done such a thing for her - but then, what could be more than giving your life for someone.
“It would never have worked, would it?”
He turned to her from the mirror. “What?” The sad look on her face told him enough. “Oh, that.” He leant against the wall and tried folding his arms across his chest, but the shirt wrinkled and he knew Marie would kill him if he wrinkled it, so he put his hands in his pockets instead. “I’m guessing he probably told you as much himself?”
“Yeah. He did. Look dad, you’re really the last person I should want to discuss this with, but… but you and mom, it’s all very similar. You’re much older than her, she was young when you got together and then there’s that whole ‘dark side of me’ stuff that I don’t really understand and, well, I don’t understand why he couldn’t admit how he felt, why he didn’t want to at least try to live, you know, let Hank try and get the chip out, not just say ‘hey, I’m a dead man walking and I don’t care’. I don’t get it. I felt every emotion he had ever had, it was all anger, all pain and I made him feel good, I felt that, he just wouldn’t admit it.”
“People like him, people like me, find it hard to say how you really feel. It’s hard.”
“If you’re about to tell me it a macho thing, I think I’ll leave now.”
“No, honey, it’s… well yeah, in a way. When you’ve never had to use your feelings, never had anyone or anything to care about you get detached, you find yourself just living from day to day taking your kicks, whatever they may be, where you can get them. You don’t have to answer to anyone, most importantly not yourself, your conscience turns off and you find yourself not giving a shit. You see people get hurt and just shrug it off because it doesn’t effect you directly, so why care.”
“Is that how it was for you?”
“Yeah. When I met Marie, I’d spent the best part of fifteen year getting drunk, beating the shit outta red neck truckers and…” he shrugged almost shyly. “Sleeping with a lotta women. I hated it, but was too angry at the world and everyone in it to care. For a person like that it’s hard, sometimes too hard to change.”
“Till you met mom.” He smiled warmly. “You’ve never told me about that.”
“I’m sure she has.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard the eyes meeting across a dingy bar, knight in shining armour version, but you haven’t told me. Come on, tell me what you thought about her.”
“I was in the cage, fightin’. I didn’t see her at first, but, well, I’d been in that bar for a good few hours and knew every scent, then she comes in and…. It was like… you know that smell when you cut grass, it’s fresh and clean and new. It was like that, this scent hit my nose just as another idiot walks into the cage, it makes it a little difficult to concentrate, so he gets a few good punches in, a shot to my jaw, then my back and while I was on the floor he put a knee in my stomach, huh, but then I get half up and I throw him the old…”
“Dad…”
“Yeah, well, anyway. After, she was sat at the bar and I got a good look at her for the first time.”
“Did you think she was pretty?” Logan rolled his eyes at the soppy grin on her face.
“Louise, it wasn’t some profound moment of destiny, yeah I thought she was the prettiest thing I ever saw, but too young, way too young and at the time all I knew was that I couldn’t just leave her there. God knows what would have happened to her if I’d have left her there.”
“So, not a profound moment of destiny, more like a like a spark of interest tucked away in your head for later reference?”
“My God, you are a complete hopeless romantic, just like your mother.”
“What’s wrong with being a hopeless romantic? Better than being a pessimist.”
“I am not a piss-artist!”
“Pessimist dad, I said pessimist!”
“Darlin’ I don’t even know what that word means, all I know is that if Scott doesn’t turn up in the next ten minutes your mother’s going to kill him for ruining her wedding day.”
“I’m kind of glad things turned out this way. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Liam and I missed out on a lot, but I get to watch my parent’s wedding which is kind of cool.”
“You’re just happy ‘cause you’re on drugs.”
Wagging a finger at him she got off the bed and walked to the door. “Hank says that the suppressant has no effect on my personality, it just stops me from spontaneous human combustion!”
His face took a serious edge to it. “It won’t be like this forever, you know. Hank and Chuck, they will figure out a way for you to control the shockwave.”
“I know, and in the meantime, I’ll just keep taking my tablets like a good girl so I don’t disintegrate any more people.”
He chuckled and then growled as his nostrils flawed. “Scott.” The door pushed open past Louise and a red-faced Scott appeared.
“Logan, I… I’m really sorry, I was going to come back from DC last night, but it got late and I changed my mind then this morning driving back there was an accident on the freeway and it was a complete mess. I should have been back hours ago I’m really sorry and… you look great.”
“Excuse me, did you just…”
“Not you, farm-boy. Louise.” He cleared his throat a little and his eyes swept over her long pale-green strapless dress. “You look really nice.”
Logan narrowed his eyes at Scott and the dreamy look on Louise’s face. “Anyway, don’t you too have somewhere to be?”
“We sure do. May I have the pleasure of escorting the bridesmaid to the chapel?”
“Thank you. See you in a few dad. Try not to ruin the tie before you get to the alter.”
“Yeah yeah. Lou, love ya kid.”
“I love you too dad.” She closed the door behind her, but Logan could still hear her voice. “I think you look nice too, the glasses go surprisingly well with a dinner jacket.”
Logan picked up his own jacket off the bed and swung it around slipping his arms in through easily. He checked his reflection, huffed at it, then he huffed again when he head Scott’s voice at the end of the hall by the stairs. “So, do I get a dance later?”
“Huh, forget it Scooter, over your dead body are you making eyes at my little girl!”
He smiled and blew out a big breath. "My little girl, my son and... sooon, my wife. What ever the hell bumped me toward Laughlin City... thank you."
******************END
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Author's Chapter Notes:
A huge thank you to Bancainte, she's got me through. AND thanks to everyone for all the feedback.