DISCLAIMER: If you know them and love them (or hate them), they aren't mine. If you don't know 'em, they are.
DISTRIBUTION: If you would like permission to archive this story, please email: mydestinyfic@yahoo.com.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first attempt at an XFic. If you don't like it, don't read it. I'd like to thank the ladies of the WXF for their support and encouragement. Special thanks to Albertina, Chase and Joanne for beta'ing this for me. Big sloppy baby kisses to Cyn and baby Nicky for their special brand of ego-boostin'. And, finally, if you like it, please let me know. I've already got a few sequels spinning in my brain. Eve and Logan will not be stopped.
SPECIAL NOTE: Look Ma, all that thesis research came in handy for something!
As Jean walked down the hallway toward the Professor, her heart felt heavy. Logan had been unconscious for several hours. His vital signs were strong and there was no apparent physical reason for his condition. She blushed slightly, remembering the events that had led to his current state. Maybe he'd just exhausted himself, she thought wryly.
Upon seeing the expression on the Professor's face, she forced herself to put away her concerns for Logan. He would be fine, if given enough time to recover. She wasn't certain that the same could be said of Eve. When Jean had examined her the day before, she had suggested that they continue monitoring Eve's condition after the bite. If something went wrong, with the appropriate information from her equipment, Jean felt confident that she could handle any situation. Eve would hear nothing of it. She would only say that she would feel more comfortable if Jean kept her distance during the transformation process. Jean felt impotent, a feeling she didn't care for at all.
The Professor was more worried than she had originally realized. His face was creased with lines of exhaustion. Something was wrong.
"Professor," she said, crouching beside his chair and groping for his hand, "what is it? Has something changed?"
He nodded forlornly.
"She's awake, Jean," he said. "She's awake, but it might have been better if she'd just stayed asleep." He looked at her, his eyes filled with shame. "There is something that I haven't told you. I have been working very hard over the last year to hone the mental skills and strength necessary to breech the veil that Eve has placed over her mind. At first, I was trying it because I wanted to find a way to speak to her, even if she refused to listen. But, after I realized what she would have to go through to make this plan successful, my motives changed. I knew that she would be alone, and I endeavored to place myself there in the darkness with her. I never stopped to consider that my physical health might be jeopardized by my actions. But, as you have so astutely observed, they have been."
His fond smile lingered only briefly.
"While she was unconscious, I had the opportunity to explore her mind. It was different from ours. And, perhaps most frightening, was the fact that I couldn't seem to pull myself free once I'd gotten in there. I think it must be some sort of mental booby-trap. If you manage to get in, the vampire has the ability to hold you there. Given the fact that Eve's body is busy making immense physiological changes, I'm guessing that what I experienced was only a glimpse at her real power.
"It was so dark in there, Jean. You can't imagine the loneliness, hundreds of years of loneliness. I don't understand how she handles it. Those long periods of hibernation were really a blessing.
"But, I'm rambling. The point is that she's awake now. I'm not going to try to fully penetrate her mind. I'm just staying at the surface where I can monitor her condition. She's let me in like this before, so I don't think she'll try to push me out. Of course, that's just a theory." He smiled again weakly. "It's like she's in a state of suspended animation. Her mind is conscious but she can't move. I think the paralysis is happening on the cellular level. She's in so much pain, Jean. The complete restructuring of her internal organs is amazing. I don't understand why it's happening. I'll leave that up to you. How is Logan?"
"I'm honestly not sure, Professor. He should be awake now. I can't find a single medical reason to explain why he's still unconscious. It's like his mind is keeping him there. At first I thought it was a physiological response to something in her bite. But, I've examined his blood a couple of times now and all the foreign compounds have been destroyed by his immune system. Maybe it's for the best that he's down for now. You know, that once he wakes up, he'll be stalking these halls until she comes out of that room. I understand what she was trying to tell us now. I can't even begin to guess what the psychological impact is going to be on him. I-"
A sudden cry from the room where Eve was recovering stopped Jean's speech. Eve's voice rang out again before the hallway lapsed into silence.
"Don't speak of him again, Jean," the Professor said quietly. "She isn't paying much attention to our conversation, but she will listen if we talk about him."
"She's developing psychic abilities?"
Xavier shook his head.
"No. Well, at least I don't think so. What I mean is that she's actually physically listening to us."
"Her hearing is that good?" Jean asked.
"Let's just say that she will make an excellent teacher. And, God help the student who tries to whisper in the back of the room. Her senses are amazing, Jean. I think they must be stronger than Logan's, not in power, but in sheer range. They will only become more amplified as she uses them."
"Are you sensing anything else? Any other changes?" Jean's frustration at not being able to observe Eve's transformation mounted. There was so much she could have learned about the process. So many things about Eve would have made sense.
He shook his head.
"No, I can't tell. I don't think she really knows what kinds of changes are happening in her body. Right now, there's just the pain, that's all she can think about. I suppose we can count that as a blessing," he said, looking away from her so she wouldn't see the tears in his eyes. "She's bleeding, Jean. Her body is expelling the contents of her ovaries. I think that they may have atrophied. I'm not certain. When she spoke of this before, I thought she was speaking in metaphoric terms. I didn't realize that she literally meant that her ability to give life would flow right out of her body. She wrapped it so completely in spiritual rhetoric that I was convinced she meant something else. I wanted-" The Professor lapsed into silence.
"Will you be ok with her here?" Jean asked, her voice trembling. "I, I want to go back and check on our other patient."
Xavier nodded absently, not bothering to watch her as she left.
Jean ran down the hall, tears burning over her cheeks. She didn't have to be inside the other woman to understand her pain. The thought of her ability to give life rushing out of her body in a great gush was enough. She did not need to experience it. Eve had been right. It would have been disastrous if she had tried to watch this process. She never would have been able to forgive herself for not being able to stop it. Her heart broke as she thought of the painful road that lay ahead for Eve. She was only experiencing her physical pain now. What would happen when the rest kicked in?
Jean slowed her pace and managed to walk briskly into the lab. Scott hovered over Logan, who was still asleep. At least he wasn't awake for this. Yet.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
As Jean bent over to place a tray of clean test tubes on a low shelf, she felt someone watching her. She found herself smiling before she even turned around. He was awake.
"Logan," she said as she walked toward him, "it's good to have you back. How do you feel?"
He blinked at her groggily a few times before he pulled the oxygen tube from his nose.
"How many times," he said gruffly, "do I have to tell you that I don't need this thing up my nose?"
Ahh, she thought, that's the Logan I know.
"I know, I know," she said, "it's just that I enjoy torturing you so much. Now, enough with the comedy. Really, how do you feel?"
She grabbed her stethoscope and began listening to his heart as she spoke. It sounded strong and even. She smiled to herself in satisfaction, he was going to be ok.
"Been better," he said weakly, his head falling back on the pillow she'd placed there. "I feel like I've been pulling myself through mud. My muscles are so tired."
"Do you have any pain?"
He shook his head.
"No, no pain. I just feel tired."
She smiled at him.
"Why don't you try to rest a little longer. You'll feel better when you wake up."
He nodded and his eyelids fluttered closed.
Jean went back to work with gusto. Finally, something was going their way. She put away the equipment they had used during the procedure, carefully stowing the readouts and videotape in the vault for careful review later. She planned to make a deliberate study of the physiological changes in both Logan and Eve. Hopefully, something good could come of it.
Eve.
She stopped in the middle of putting the video recorder in it's case. Now that Logan was safely on the road to recovery, it was time to check in with the Professor and Scott. She looked at Logan. He was still, having apparently returned to deep sleep. He'd probably be out for another couple of hours. She made her decision and walked quietly toward the hallway. As she left the room, she snapped off the lights and shut the door. There was no need for him to be disturbed.
Jean walked slowly down the hall, not certain she really wanted to know how Eve was doing. Before she'd even made it half way between the rooms, she heard Eve's pained cries. She jogged the short distance to Scott and the Professor.
"What's going on?" she asked, her voice alarmed.
"Apparently the paralysis has passed," the Professor said. She could tell from the sound of his voice that he had been crying. "She's in so much pain, Jean. I-"
She saw the muscle tick in his cheek. He said no more, determined to prevent himself from breaking into tears in front of his children. Instead, she knew he would carry his guilt around inside. He could be so stubborn sometimes.
Several heavy thudding noises came from within the room. It sounded like she was throwing herself against the door. The heavy pounding of her fists continued and Jean was dismayed to see several small dents appear in the steel door of Eve's recovery room.
"What is she doing to herself?" Jean gasped painfully.
"She's crazed, Jean, operating purely on instinct. She was right." He laughed bitterly. "Can you imagine if one of us had actually tried to stay in there with her?"
"She would have pummeled us to death."
"I think that would have been the best we could hope for."
The thumping slowed and finally stopped.
Scott looked at his watch.
"Just under four hours, Professor."
Xavier nodded. He could not believe she had held out that long. Hours of thrashing against the walls of that room would have torn almost any other creature to a bloody pulp. He wondered what she'd do next. He closed his eyes and slowly tried to make the journey back inside her mind. She was still too distressed to offer much resistance.
Her physical pain was leaving rapidly. He found himself in awe of the tremendous strength and vitality running through her body. He could feel the electricity snapping between her synapses. The power of it all made him feel giddy. He forced himself to pull back, to become a neutral observer. Physically, her systems were nearly perfect, operating at full capacity. She'd sustained no injuries over the course of the last few hours. In fact, her fatigue was almost gone.
Her reproductive system was a shambles. Blood still oozed from her body. He found himself wondering how long it could go on. Certainly she would run out of blood at some point. Would it kill her? No, he thought to himself, that would be unlikely. They all had to go through this process. If it was likely to kill them, why bother?
He felt the crushing pressure of her sadness. It was closing in around her, swallowing her whole. Now that she was still, Eve had finally begun to register the blood flowing from between her legs. The palpable sign of her loss was too much.
Jean shuddered as she heard the heart-wrenching sobs coming from the other woman. She was crying as though the world had ended; and, in many ways, it had. Jean felt Scott move to stand behind her. She felt comforted when his arms slipped around her waist and she leaned back against his chest.
"What the hell are you people doing to her?" Logan snarled.
They all turned abruptly to see him stalking toward them, fists clenched. Wires dangled from the electrodes that were still stuck to his skin. His anger was tangible, like another being standing in the corridor beside him.
"Well?" he asked, not bothering to wait for their answer before making his move toward the door.
"No Logan," Jean cried. "She said no. She doesn't want you in there."
He looked at her through narrowed eyes.
"Well, she isn't here right now to stop me," he said, with a slow, nasty smile. "You think you can?" As he said it, he unsheathed his claws.
Without thinking, she raised her hand and used all her psychic energy to hold his muscles in place. She felt him struggling against her hold, but knew there was nothing he could do about it.
"Logan," the Professor said quietly, "she's in a great deal of pain right now. Not physical pain, but psychological pain. She's trying to come to grips with the fact that she can't have children anymore. She's deeply mourning the passing of that gift."
Jean eased her control on the muscles of Logan's face, allowing him to respond.
"Don't you understand," he said, his face wrinkling with emotion, tears just below the surface, "I know what she's going through. I've felt that kind of pain. She needs me; she just doesn't understand that yet."
Xavier shook his head.
"No Logan, I think you're wrong. I think she knows very well that you understand her pain. But, she doesn't want you there. She believes that it will only make this harder on you both. Eve doesn't want to harm you, Logan."
Logan's face twisted bitterly.
"She can't hurt me, Professor. You of all people know that. You've rooted around in my skull enough times to know I can take it."
The Professor saw the futility in this argument. No matter what he said, Logan simply would not listen.
"I know that, Logan. But she doesn't. I didn't tell her much about your past. Most of what she knows, she's inferred from your behavior. The point is, I don't think she's in any condition to take one more thing right now. "
As she felt Logan's agitation calming, Jean eased her hold on his muscles.
He thanked her with a silent look, before turning to look at the door. As he saw the dents Eve had made, he walked forward and ran his hand over them.
"How can you just sit here and listen to her cry?"
Logan's forehead hit the door with a heavy thud. His palms caressed the steel surface in a gesture of longing. No one answered him, but, he hadn't really expected that they would. The emotional impact was too strong, even for them. Suddenly, he became aware of a strange, yet familiar aroma. It was wafting out from the cracks around the door. He knew that smell. Quickly, before anyone would have the chance to stop him, Logan slashed at the lock with his claws. He pulled the door open, ignoring the other's cries of alarm. He knew that smell. It was his blood.
Eve lay in a fetal position on the floor of the empty room. Her shirt was torn. Though she was wearing shorts, she had bled so heavily that streaks of dried blood ran the length of both her legs. Her small frame shook with the force of her tears.
Logan sat down on the floor beside Eve, gently picking her up and placing her on his lap. He forced himself to ignore the dampness of her shorts. Logan tucked her head under his chin and crooned nonsensical words into her hair. He slowly rocked her back and forth, his fingers stroking her wavy locks. He took great care to avoid the sections that were stuck together with her blood.
Her fingers slid over his torso, gripping at his skin. Logan felt the wetness of her tears on his chest as her cries continued unabated. He felt his heart sink and wondered if his nearness was helping at all. He dismissed his feelings of doubt. If the experiences of his life had taught him anything, they had taught him that it was always worse to experience such profound loss alone. He hadn't had any other options, but she did. She didn't have to be alone. He wasn't going to let her.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Several hours later, Logan sat with his back resting against the wall of the empty room. Eve had finally quieted an hour before. He'd said nothing, figuring that silence was a good way to avoid her anger. For a long time she had seemed oblivious to his presence. Slowly, he was beginning to see the signs that told him she knew he was there.
She pulled away from him without warning. The back of his head hit the wall with a dull thud. Eve moved to the other side of the room; he could feel her eyes staring at him from a darkened corner.
"I told you to stay away." There was venom in her voice. "Don't you understand? I. Don't. Want. You. Here. Satisfy your savior complex with someone else."
His eyes narrowed. She had to be the most ungrateful woman he had ever met.
"Look lady," he said with a snarl, "I don't know what the hell your problem is. But it seems to me that you're taking your anger out on the wrong person. I came in here because you were crying and I didn't think you needed to go through that alone. Everybody else was happy enough to sit in the hall and listen to you, but I couldn't."
"I don't care what you could or couldn't do. I already told you that I don't want you near me. Do you not understand English?"
"You know what," he said with a smirk, "you've said over and over again that you don't want me here. But I have never heard you give a decent reason why. You tell me why you don't want me in here. Give me one really good reason, and I'm gone."
"If you don't leave this room right now," she said through clenched teeth, "I'm going to kill you. I'll tear your throat open and pull your lungs out through your windpipe. I'd like to see your body heal from that."
Logan slammed the door closed and flicked the switch to the overhead light. He leaned against the door, arms crossed over his chest.
"I'd like to see you try. You don't have the balls, darlin'."
Eve said nothing. Instead, she stood in the corner deathly still. He saw his reflection in the surface of her sunglasses and knew that she was looking at him, plotting something. He quickly looked around the room that was usually used to house Jean's scientific equipment. The walls were bare. Scott had even removed the shelving from the bookcases.
He felt the air shift in the room and vaguely registered a blur out of the corner of his eye just before he felt himself falling to the floor. He lay there for a moment catching his breath. She was fast, but he knew he could be faster.
Logan lay on the floor, playing possum. If he managed to catch her off guard, he figured he could take her easily. He held his breath and silently willed his heart to slow it's beating.
Eve approached him cautiously, sure that he was trying to trick her. The simple shove to the floor hadn't done much damage. She hadn't even used her full strength. She felt his fingers close around her ankle when she kicked at his shoulder. Eve tried to break free but couldn't seem to hold her balance. She fell backwards, her upper back taking the brunt of her fall.
Logan sprang from the floor, knowing she'd only be stunned for a moment. He fell on top of her, his hands scrambling to latch onto her wrists. When he successfully had both of them pinned above her head in his right hand, he unsheathed the claws of his left.
"You were saying something about tearing open a throat? How about we start with yours?"
He pressed his claws against her throat, carefully suppressing the desire to follow through on his threat. She really was a gigantic pain in the ass. Besides, she'd heal eventually.
Eve tipped back her head, pressing his claws through her flesh. Her laughter filled the room.
"You really are a silly little man, aren't you?"
She thrust her knee violently between his legs and pushed him backwards into the wall. His head hit the wall with a satisfying crack. She wasn't really sure whether his skull had sustained the damage or if it was just the wall. Given his stubborn nature, she figured it was the latter.
He lay sprawled on the floor, quietly nursing the pain between his legs. Alright, he'd gotten cocky and she'd taken the easy shot. That he could live with. But, he figured he'd heard enough short jokes for one lifetime.
It was time to get serious.
He stood slowly, unsheathing the claws on his right hand as he did so. As soon as his legs straightened, he was running, arms stretched out in front of him. He felt a slight pressure as his claws slid through her chest, settling inside her ribcage. Using his momentum for leverage, Logan lifted Eve over his head and threw her to the floor behind him.
Logan grunted in satisfaction. That shut her up.
He turned to look at her, a cocky smile on his face. The look lasted no longer than a second or two. She was gone. He spun around, expecting to find her standing behind him. What the hell? He heard a giggle before he felt her thighs close on either side of his neck.
"Up here," she said smugly. She twisted the lower halves of her legs together, creating a vice-like pressure on the veins in his neck. He struggled to remain conscious as the blood supply to his brain dwindled. He reached up to pull her down, but she had already fallen backwards. His neck cracked painfully. Logan fell to the floor, his body refusing to obey the commands his brain was sending it. Shortly, the numbness in his arms and legs turned into a gentle tingling. He was healing quickly. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough.
Eve straddled his chest and pinned his hands above his head, mimicking his actions only moments before. Her shirt had torn further during the fight and her breasts peeked through the cotton cloth. He felt himself grow hard against the restrictive fabric of his jeans. Her cheeks were flushed, and her lips were parted as she breathed heavily. He chose to ignore the blood, his blood, that streaked her legs.
She fell forward and he felt her fangs at his neck and her breasts on his chest in the same moment. It wasn't the worst experience he'd ever had. Eve inserted her fangs just under the surface of his skin. He waited for the rest. Nothing. She wasn't moving, just sitting there. He felt the juncture of her thighs resettle against his erection. So that's what had her attention. He pressed his hips upward, applying a slow, steady pressure against her moist heat.
She pulled away quickly, her fangs slipping from his neck. Eve looked down at him with a stricken expression on her face. He didn't bother to think. He raised his upper body and used his hands to pull her down toward him. Her mouth was open before he even got to it.
His tongue lashed violently against hers. He wanted to consume her, as she had already consumed him. When her tongue retreated, he found himself licking at her lips, then sucking the plump flesh between his teeth. He pressed his tongue into her mouth and licked at the sharp edge of her incisors. Eve's body shuddered, causing a wonderful sensation to spread through his groin. He groaned in appreciation.
Slowly, he pulled his tongue from her mouth.
"I knew you couldn't kill me," he said in a husky whisper.
Eve pulled away from him. She stood abruptly and his hands fell to the floor. As her lips narrowed, he realized that that might not have been the smartest thing he could have said. She turned on her heel and made for the door. He stood quickly. Springing forward, he grabbed her arm in an attempt to prevent her from leaving.
As Logan's fingers wrapped around her flesh, he felt a strange sensation building in his veins. Christ. His blood was burning. He pulled his hand free, wondering if her skin was the source of his discomfort. He blinked repeatedly. No, that wasn't it. It wasn't stopping. The heat and pressure were intense. His skin felt as though it were melting.
He looked at the smug expression on her face and he knew it was her. She was making something happen to him. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was definitely her doing. He vaguely registered the swing of her bare foot before he felt it hit him squarely in the chest.
Logan fell backwards, his skull cracking against the floor.
"You got off lucky," she said as she walked out the door and his world slid into darkness.
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