Logan followed Jean through the lower halls of the mansion, the tile of the floor cold beneath his bare feet. He had been asleep only moments before, but Xavier's voice had suddenly echoed in his head, jarring unpleasantly with the great dream he had been having, and now he was awake and on his way to find out just what in the hell ol' Chuck wanted. He hoped it was something good...'cause that dream had been fucking awesome.
Jean opened the door to the map room and he came in behind her. Xavier was behind the table, still in his well-cut suit. Apparently, the professor hadn't been to bed yet.
"What's goin' on?" he asked as Jean moved around him to close the door. "Somethin' good, I hope, to make up for getting me out of bed."
"You have a mission tonight, all of you," Xavier replied.
Logan nodded and went to stand beside the map table, his hands resting on the edge of its surface. Outwardly he was calm, but inside he was dancing for joy...damn, it had been awhile since he'd had a chance to kick some ass. The professor eyed him curiously.
"Aren't you going to ask me what the mission entails?" Xavier asked.
Jean laughed. "Logan doesn't care. He's just happy for a fight." She lifted her eyebrows and looked at Logan, and he grinned back. Damn straight.
"I hope it won't come to that, except as a last resort," Xavier said. He turned toward the door as it opened and Scott came into the room.
"Did I miss anything?" Scott asked.
The professor shook his head. "No, we were just beginning. Where is Storm?"
"She told me she would be down in just a minute," Jean said. "She was a little groggy when I went in to get her."
Logan sat quietly, keeping his face carefully blank. Jean's words made his dream come flooding back to him...how in the dream he had crept silently into Ororo's room, and how she had looked asleep, her face beautiful and serene, her snow-white hair spilling across her pillow....in the dream she had opened her gorgeous brown eyes, startled to see him bending over her at first, but then she had smiled sweetly and reached for him, her slender hands sinking into his hair as he lowered his face to hers...
"Logan!"
"What?" He looked up from his daydreaming to find Jean, Scott, and Xavier staring at him.
"Are you okay?" Jean asked. "I called your name three times."
He grunted, hoping they couldn't see his flush of embarrassment in the dim light. "Yeah...sorry. My mind was just wandering, I guess."
Scott snorted, but Xavier and Jean only looked at him with what appeared to be concern. At that instant the door slid open and Ororo came in, wearing her blue silk robe. Logan tried hard not to look at the way the silk clung to her, but he was failing miserably.
"I'm sorry I'm late," she apologized. "I couldn't find my robe, and I didn't want to come down in my nightgown."
Xavier only nodded, but Logan secretly wished her bathrobe had stayed missing.
The professor wheeled himself to the map table and caused a landscape to appear on its previously flat surface. Logan leaned closer with the others in interest as the three-dimensional image of a building rose up into stark relief. The building was long and two stories high, with two long halls extending from each end.
"This is Oak Grove Elementary School," Xavier said. "You will need to go here in the Blackbird...the school is only about one hundred miles from here, and I have already programmed the coordinates into the plane's database." He manipulated one of the map's controls and the outer walls of the model disappeared, revealing the details of the interior floorplan. "The front and back entrances are heavily guarded, so you will need to land on the roof and enter here, through the service hatch."
"Are we doing a rescue?" Scott asked, his voice beginning to slip into leader-mode.
"Yes," said the professor. "Do you remember Carmen Simmons?"
"Of course!" Jean exclaimed, then for Logan's benefit, she said, "Carmen is a mutant...she was one of the professor's first students, like Scott and Ororo and me." Logan nodded, and she turned back to Xavier, her expression concerned. "Is she all right?"
"No. It's Carmen...and her husband and daughter...that you are going to rescue."
"From who?" Scott asked.
"From a small group of militants," the professor said. "An anti-mutant group that calls themselves the Society for Mutant Annihilation."
"Charming name," Logan muttered.
"Carmen has been a teacher at this elementary school since leaving here and graduating from college. Until now, she has kept her mutant identity a secret, but then an unfortunate incident with her daughter "outed" them...to the wrong people." Xavier explained. "Although Carmen's husband is not a mutant, their daughter inherited her mother's power, and it manifested itself last week during her math class."
"What happened?" Ororo asked.
"As you remember, Carmen's mutation allowed her to become invisible at will. Her daughter was apparently extremely bored with the lesson that day, and she suddenly discovered to her very great joy that she had become invisible, enabling her to sneak out of class undetected." Xavier smiled slightly as the others chuckled, then his face grew serious again and he hurried on. "When this was discovered and the child was questioned by school administraion, the child quite innocently exposed her mother as sharing the same power."
"And somehow this anti-mutant group got wind of it, I assume," Scott said. "Is this group holding them hostage, or what?"
"No, it's much worse than that, I'm afraid," Xavier said. "They are planning on torturing them...for information."
Logan growled. "What kind of information?" he asked.
"The leader of this group believes that Carmen and her family may know the names and locations of other mutants, and his intention is to compile these names, if any, and kill them...one by one."
"Why hasn't this been on the news, Xavier?" Jean asked. "Something like this...even when it involves mutants...why isn't it all over the television?"
"Because this only happened tonight, after everyone at the school had gone home for the night." Xavier said. "The administration suspended Carmen until a final decision could be made by the school board, and Carmen's husband met her at the school this evening, with their daughter, to help Carmen pack up her things before returning home. Somehow the Society found out the family was there, and they ambushed them shortly after nightfall."
"Why don't they just turn invisible and sneak out?" Logan asked.
"And leave her husband?" Scott retorted. "Come on...we've wasted enough time already." He headed for the door, and after a moment the others followed.
"See you after awhile, Chuck," Logan said.
Xavier raised his hand. "Be careful, my X-men," he said. "Good luck."
* * * * *
Fifteen minutes later they were in their uniforms and aboard the Blackbird, the engines making a dull scream as they soared over the trees below. Scott manipulated the controls carefully, allowing the jet's computer to monitor the path of their flight.
"There's the school," Ororo said from the seat beside him. "The roof still appears to be unguarded."
"I see it...I'm taking her down." Scott eased the nose of the jet down slightly, and as he banked the plane Logan peered out the window into the darkness. He could vaguely see the squat bulk of the school, hunched and waiting for them, as Cyclops brought the jet down and landed with barely a bump on the smooth surface of the roof.
"That was a hell of a lot better than the last time I was with you guys," Logan said.
Cyclops glanced at him and his lips quirked in a slight smile. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"
"Not a chance," Logan grinned.
"Okay, you two...let's get going," Jean said. "Carmen needs us."
"Right," Cyclops agreed. "Let's find that roof hatch."
Logan stood up and followed the others out of the plane, sniffing the air unconsciously as he did so. Cyclops was scanning the roof, looking for the hatch Xavier had told them about, when Jean called to him.
"Scott, what's this?"
Cyclops hurried over to investigate. "Good job, Jean...it looks like our entrance into the school." He dropped to one knee and ran his hands over the square trapdoor Jean had discovered. "It's locked, though."
"Not a problem," Logan grunted. He stepped forward and unsheathed the claws on one hand, sliding them into the crack around the sides of the door. He felt around for a second, then with one quick swipe he sliced through the padlock on the other side like butter. A flick of his wrist swung the door open, creaking quietly on its hinges.
"Good work, Logan," Scott said. He sat down on the edge of the opening, trying to see through the darkness below. Logan could faintly see the red glow from an exit sign gleaming down in the shadows, but that was all.
"There's a ladder here," Scott continued. "Be careful when you come down. It's bolted to the wall, so you'll need to feel for it." He lowered his legs into the opening, holding on to the side of the hole for support, then they could hear the soft clang of his boots on the ladder as he reached inside and began to climb down.
"Ladies first," Logan said, and Jean swung herself into the hatchway and followed Scott into the darkness. Ororo waited into Jean's head disappeared through the opening, then she sat down on the edge and eased her body through the opening and down the ladder, Logan bringing up the rear.
He reached the bottom of the ladder and stood listening carefully in the gloom. Beside him he could hear Ororo's soft breathing, and slightly ahead he could see the red light of the exit sign reflecting on Jean's hair. "Where's Cyclops?" he whispered.
"Right here," Scott answered from farther down the hall. "This corridor intersects with another one...I suggest we split up and search the classrooms. We can each take one arm of the hall."
"Sounds good," Logan growled. The women nodded, then all four of them moved off in opposite directions.
Logan moved cautiously, pausing to sniff the air every few steps. Something about the smell here was bothering him, and it wasn't just the smell of chalk. There was another odor...faint, yet stinking and awfully familiar. He just couldn't seem to put his finger on where he had smelled that particular stench before.
After about ten paces he came to the first classroom door. The stink was stronger here, and he reached out and opened the door cautiously, staying well away from the crack of the doorjamb in case someone was waiting inside to ambush him. One second...two...nothing jumped out at him, so he pushed the door all the way open and looked around. The room was empty...just some desks, some brightly colored kids' drawings hung on the walls, chalk dust on the floor...he turned to leave when something caught his eye.
Someone was lying on the floor.
Logan grunted and came closer, his nostrils flaring as the coppery smell of blood hit him full on. Jesus...it was a dead guy. Logan grimaced and crouched down next to the body, a man of about thirty or so, wearing some kind of militia-style uniform and clutching a M-16. The man's gut was ripped open, blood congealing on the floor under him and the gleam of his intestines showing through the gaping hole.
And there was something else as well...Logan sniffed the air around the corpse again, searching for that other, alien smell that had nothing to do with the odor of blood or entrails.
Then recognition dawned. "Fuck," Logan muttered under his breath. He stood up quickly and ran back out into the hall.
"Hey, Cyclops!" he hissed down the dark hall.
There was silence for a moment, then he heard Jean's voice calling to him from the shadows. "What is it, Logan?"
"I think we've got a problem," he responded. "Find the others and get them over here quick." He heard Jean's footsteps moving off, then he went back into the classroom with the stiff and stood over it, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
There were a few discarded shells scattered on the floor around the body, and Logan looked around the room curiously to see where the guy had fired. There...beside the chalkboard were several bullet holes. He fingered them absently, then turned as Cyclops came into the room, followed closely by Jean and Ororo.
"What is it, Logan?" Cyclops began, then Jean gasped behind him.
"Oh my God!" she whispered. "What happened to him?" She recovered her composure and knelt quickly beside the body, checking for a pulse.
"Trust me, he's dead," Logan said. He glanced worriedly at Ororo, who was looking a bit ashen. "Somebody's beaten us to the job, it seems."
"Who?" Scott asked.
"Sabretooth," Logan replied. Cyclops raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"It couldn't have been, Logan," Scott said. "He was killed when he fell from the Statue, after I blasted him."
"Did they ever find the body?" Logan asked. "Trust me...I'd recognize that asshole's smell anywhere. He's here."
"I agree with Logan," Jean said, standing up and wiping her hands on her uniform. "This looks like his handiwork. The question is, what do we do now?"
Scott was silent for a moment. "We finish the mission as planned," he said finally. "The stakes may be a little higher, but at least we found out before Sabretooth had a chance to surprise us." He looked at the corpse once more. "We stick together for now. We don't know if Sabretooth is alone."
"He's not," said a strange, vibrating voice behind them. Logan whirled around, startled, and found himself face to face with a blue skinned woman. She grinned sardonically, flashing perfect white teeth, then punched Logan square in the mouth before he had time to react.
Shit! he thought, the force of her blow knocking him backward. Mystique!
Logan snarled and rushed at her with his arms spread, catching her around the middle and knocking them both to the floor. The force of his body knocked the wind out of her, but she regained her breath quickly and hooked her long legs around his waist, flipping him over so she was on top and back in control. "Gotcha," she hissed in his face.
He brought his head up smartly and cracked her in the nose with his skull. She shrieked and clapped her hands to her face, and he took the opportunity to grab her wrists and fling her bodily across the room. She landed against a desk and turned it over, spilling on the floor in a tangle of blue limbs and broken wood. With a ragged growl Logan stood up and began to stalk toward her.
"Logan, stop!" Cyclops shouted. "Don't get near her...I can take her from here."
Logan ignored Scott and continued to advance on the groaning Mystique. He thought he had killed this bitch once already...he meant to finish the job this time. A flick of his wrists unsheathed his claws, and he grinned evilly as he approached.
Ororo's sudden scream stopped him short. He spun around just in time to see a hulking, hairy yellow thing burst through the open door, then there was a stifled sound behind him. He turned back too late...something heavy struck him across the back of the head, and everything went black. His knees buckled, and then he collapsed to the floor, his cheek coming to rest on the cool wood.
The last thing he heard was Mystique. "Bastard," she muttered...and then unconsciousness embraced him.
* * * * *
He awakened slowly, his eyes taking a moment to focus after Mystique's blow to his head. He tried to move, but his arms had been bound securely behind his back, his legs tied tightly around the ankles. Logan had to grin a little...they had made sure to tie his arms in such a way that he couldn't slice the rope with his claws. He had to give it to them...they learned fast.
There was a groan close by, and he craned his neck to see Cyclops lying on the floor next to him. Scott still had his visor on, but his limbs had been tied as well so he couldn't reach the control dial on the side.
"I see you're awake," Mystique said from behind him. Logan snarled and tried to turn to look at her, but she remained just out of the range of his vision. Another sound cut through the shadows, a gutteral growl that Logan recognized well...Sabretooth.
"What are you waiting for, bitch?" Logan said through gritted teeth. "Why don't you just kill us and be done with it?"
"All in good time, Wolverine," she replied, her voice silky. "There's still plenty of night left before dawn...I think we'll have a little fun first. I owe you that much, at least...especially after what you did to me the last time we met."
"Too bad I didn't stick around to make sure you were dead," he spat.
She only laughed. "Yes, too bad for you."
"Where's Jean and Storm?" Cyclops suddenly asked. Logan was glad to hear his voice.
"Right here, Scott," Jean said from the other side of the room. "We're okay."
Logan heard Scott breathe a small sigh of relief, and he had to admit he felt the same way. He wished Ororo would speak, so he could hear her voice and know for sure she wasn't hurt, but he would have to take Jean's word for it.
Jean spoke again. "What are you doing here, Mystique?" she asked.
"We're here for the same reason you are, Dr. Grey," Mystique replied. "The rescue of a certain mutant and her daughter."
"Since when did you become a Girl Scout?" Jean snapped. "And where is Carmen, and her family?"
"Safe, for the moment, although the husband will have to be killed, of course," Mystique said. "He's human, and therefore expendable."
"What do you want them for?" Jean pressed.
"A mutant with the power of invisiblity?" Mystique laughed. "Really, Dr. Grey...such a person is exactly who I need to help execute my plan."
"And what plan is that?" Logan growled.
"To help Magneto escape from prison," she answered. "Carmen can sneak right past the guards, take out those that are in my way, and then I will simply take on the form of Magneto's personal watchdogs and...voila! Instant jailbreak."
"Shut up, Mystique," Sabretooth suddenly growled. "You talk too much."
"Don't tell me to shut up, you overgrown mongrel!" she hissed. "I might regret giving you your little...gift."
Sabretooth was silent. "What makes you think Carmen will help you?" Cyclops asked.
"She will to protect her daughter," Mystique replied. "It doesn't matter to you, though...by morning you will be dead, and I will be preparing to release Magneto from that plastic prison you put him in." Logan heard her moving away, toward the door. "Are you sure about this?" she asked Sabretooth, her voice teasing. "Do you feel safe being left alone in here with these four?"
Sabretooth only growled in response, and Mystique laughed. "Very well, have your fun. I'm going to get the mutant and the girl ready to leave."
"What if they give you trouble?" Sabretooth asked.
"I think I can handle those two," Mystique replied. "Enjoy yourself."
Logan heard Mystique leave the room, leaving only Sabretooth to watch them, his breath coming in harsh pants. What had Mystique meant by "having fun?" He strained his ears in the silence, trying to figure out what the ugly fuck was up to.
Only the sound of Sabretooth's ragged breath could be heard, and a faint scuffling sound on the opposite side of the room. "Scott," Logan whispered. "What's he doing?"
"I can't see him, Logan," Scott whispered back.
"No, please," Jean cried out, her voice trembling. "Leave her alone!"
Leave her alone? Jesus, she was talking about Ororo! Logan snarled and began to strain against the ropes that bound him...what the fuck was that asshole doing?! A horrible memory flashed through his mind...jumping through a ragged opening in the Statue of Liberty's head, seeing for a split second Sabretooth standing before an imprisoned Storm, one rough claw trailing down her smooth cheek...
From across the room, Logan heard Sabretooth laugh gutterally. "You ready to scream for me now, princess?"
There was a rending noise, of leather tearing apart, and then a strange, wet, crunching sound, mixed with a muffled growl from Sabretooth. Before Logan could wonder what the sound was, Ororo shattered the air with a bloodcurdling scream, and Logan's heart stopped in his chest. He roared with her, trying to drown out the sound of her pain with his own, and his muscles bulged against the cords around his wrists.
"That's it." He could hear Sabretooth struggling with Ororo, and she screamed again, her voice ripping apart with pain. The monster attacking her only laughed. "I like it when you fight back."
"Leave her alone!" Jean screamed, her voice thick with sobs. Logan began to lose rational thought, for the smell of fresh blood was assailing his nostrils, and he was pretty sure it wasn't Sabretooth that was bleeding. A sudden burst of adrenaline shot through him, and he strained against the ropes once more, feeling something give this time. He yanked again...and again...Ororo screamed again, her voice sounding weaker this time, and then suddenly the ropes around his wrists gave way and he was free.
He twisted himself into a sitting position, popping his claws and slitting the bonds around his ankles in less than a second. Then he looked up at the scene on the floor before him...and red rage descended over his eyes.
Ororo lay on her back on the floor, weakly struggling against Sabretooth's massive form straddling her. There was blood everywhere...the top of her leather uniform had been shredded, as had her bra, but there was nothing remotely erotic about the sight. She had been bitten everywhere...on her shoulders, her waist...Sabretooth hadn't noticed that Logan was free yet...he was too busy trying to slice his claws through the lower part of Ororo's uniform while keeping the injured woman from getting away.
Logan's roar of rage howled through the room, and he launched himself at Sabretooth with all six claws extended. Sabretooth didn't look up until it was too late, and Logan's weight slammed into him and threw him bodily off Ororo before he had time to react. Logan was on top of him instantly, slashing blindly, over and over, deaf to Sabretooth's snarls of pain, not feeling the evil mutant's claws as they cut his arms and sides and face to ribbons. There was only the desire to kill left...to kill and rend and rip apart this monster with his adamantium talons until he shrieked for mercy.
"Logan!"
He ignored Jean's voice calling him...slash...slash...blood spurted up and across his face, yet still his claws did their lethal handiwork...
"Logan! Stop it! He's dead!"
Somehow, Jean's voice calmed him that time...maybe because this time she had spoken inside his head instead of trying to shout over his rage. He stopped mutilating Sabretooth abruptly...he glanced down at the body beneath him and was startled by what he had done. Sabretooth looked like raw hamburger...what was left of him.
Then he looked at Storm.
"Oh, Jesus," he said huskily, abandoning the mutant's corpse and crawling across the floor to Ororo. So much blood...her eyes were almost closed, and she seemed to be gasping for air. Logan didn't know what to do. "'Ro, darlin'...can you hear me?"
"Logan," Jean called again. "Cut me loose...I can help her."
Shit...he'd forgotten Jean was a medical doctor. Hating to leave Ororo's side, but knowing it to be necessary, he crossed the floor quickly to Jean and popped a claw, slicing through her bonds easily. Jean rubbed her wrists for a second to restore circulation, then she moved swiftly to Ororo's injured form. Logan watched her expert hands ministering to Ororo's wounds, then he moved over to Cyclops and cut his bonds as well.
"Thanks," Scott said. "Is she okay?" he asked Jean.
"No, she's not," Jean replied tersely. "There's been extensive blood loss...she's going into shock. We have to get her out of here now."
"How?" Scott asked. "We still have to save Carmen and her family, and stop Mystique."
"I don't even have anything to bind her wounds with," Jean said. "We've got to get her to the medlab on the Blackbird, immediately."
"Then let me take her," Logan said. "You and Scott take care of Mystique."
"But..." .
"Look, Scott, you can't carry Ororo when she's a dead weight. I can," he growled. Scott looked a little shamefaced, but he knew Logan was right. "You and Jean can handle Mystique just fine, and once I get Ororo to the Blackbird I can bandage her up...I know that much first aid, anyway."
Jean looked at Scott, and after a long pause he nodded. "Okay. We'll meet you at the jet as soon as possible." The two of them rushed off through the open door, leaving Logan to kneel beside Ororo. He tried to cover her with the remains of her uniform, but there wasn't enough material left to do the job. Logan thought a second, then unzipped his own uniform to his waist. Popping a claw on each hand, he managed to cut the top part of the leather suit off in one piece, then he sheathed his claws and gently wrapped Ororo's bare skin with it.
Her eyes fluttered open, but her gaze remained unfocused. "Logan?" she murmured.
"Shhh, darlin'...I'm right here," he said gently. He brushed a lock of bloody hair away from her forehead and tried to smile at her, but his throat felt strangely tight and he couldn't manage it. "I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?"
"Hurts..." she mumbled, her eyes drifting shut again.
"I know, sweetheart." He slid one arm beneath her shoulders, then the other under her knees, lifting her in his arms as he rose to a standing position. She groaned slightly as her weight shifted against him, but Logan tried to hold her steady against his chest as he hurried out the door and back up the hall to the roof hatch.
The hatch was still open, and he could see a square of night sky through its dark opening. Shit...he hadn't thought of this. How was he going to get Ororo up the ladder without hurting her more?
He looked down at her blood-streaked face. "Ororo, can you hear me?"
She stirred a little. "I'm cold, Logan..."
"I'll get you warm as soon as we get to the Blackbird, darlin'," he said. "But I'm gonna need to carry you over my shoulder to get you up the ladder. It might hurt you."
Ororo didn't answer, and Logan knew he didn't have time to wait. As gently as he could, he lifted her and took her weight on his shoulder, her arms falling limply down his back and his left arm gripping her tightly around the legs. She didn't make a sound, and Logan could only hope that she had fainted...it would keep her from hurting more until he got her to the plane.
Getting up the ladder was backbreaking work. He only had one hand free, and Ororo, although small-boned, was an awkward burden. He managed it in the end, though, and soon had her back in his arms as he loped to the Blackbird as fast as he dared. His arms were slippery with her blood, some of it fresh...her wounds had opened again when he had brought her up to the roof, but there was nothing he could do about it now but get her to the portable medlab on board.
Logan hurried up the the open hatchway of the jet and moved quickly past the second row of seats, through the doorway in the rear of the plane where Jean kept her emergency supplies. There was a small gurney there, and he laid Ororo on its padded surface. Her head fell limply to the side, her eyes closed, and Logan felt a surge of panic.
"'Ro, wake up," he said. He shook her shoulder gently, knowing it was dangerous for her to stay unconscious for long. Her body was rapidly going into shock, and she could easily slip into a coma. "C'mon, sweetheart...wake up."
Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked right at him. "So tired, Logan..." she murmured.
"No, baby, c'mon," he said urgently. He reached above her head to the small shelf above the gurney and grabbed a thick roll of medical gauze. "Keep talking to me, 'Ro. You can't go to sleep."
"Need to rest..." she whispered, her eyes drifting shut again. "So tired..."
"Ororo!" he said sharply. "Goddammit, darlin'...keep talkin' to me!" He unwrapped the remains of his uniform from around her body, wincing at the sight of her wounds.
"Talk about...what..." she said, her voice growing fainter with every word. Logan snapped a glance at her ashen face, then began wrapping the bites on her torso as fast as he could.
"Anything," he said. "Tell me about the swans...the ones at the park." His bandaging job was clumsy, but the layers of gauze were helping the blood to clot, and her bleeding was slowing to a sluggish trickle.
"The swans..." Her eyes were still closed, but a soft smile appeared on her face. "That was nice..."
"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Five bites total. Logan felt another surge of rage toward Sabretooth as he finished wrapping the last of the bites, but he kept the emotion off his face. "There...let me find you a blanket."
He rummaged in the lockers and found a stack of knit blankets, soft and warm. Gently, trying not to disturb her too much, he wrapped her up in two of them and sat beside her on the small stool next to the gurney. "How's that, darlin'?"
"Better..." she whispered. She was silent for awhile, and Logan was content to sit there, gently brushing her hair away from her face with trembling hands. She was so pale, her breathing shallow and labored...the soft skin of her face felt like ice beneath his fingers.
Suddenly, he heard a thumping sound outside the jet. Footsteps...someone...several someones by the sound of it...running toward the Blackbird across the roof of the school. He stood up and tensed his muscles, ready for whoever might be coming.
Jean ran into the jet first, out of breath with her auburn hair flying wildly around her face. She was followed closely by a tall, lanky young man, clutching a small girl in his arms.
"Jean!" Logan shouted. "Hot damn! You made it!"
She gave him a shaky smile. "Just barely."
There were more running footsteps, then a pretty young woman stumbled into the jet, her face pale with exhaustion. Cyclops bounded in after her, immediately pressing the button that closed the hatchway and seating himself quickly in the pilot's seat.
"Logan, I need you to co-pilot," he said with calm efficiency. Logan nodded and took the seat beside him, strapping himself in...this was normally Ororo's job, but she sure as hell wasn't up to the task. He watched as Cyclops flicked the dual switches for the jet's engines, and with a shudder and a howl the Blackbird roared to life.
"What's the hurry, Cyke?" he asked quietly, putting on Ororo's headset and adjusting the infrared monitors. "Is it safe to assume that the couple with the kid back there are Carmen and company?"
"They are." Cyclops flipped the hover toggle and the jet rose in the air. Logan glanced back once and saw Jean disappear into the medlab, then he reluctantly turned his attention back to the screens in front of him. Cyclops noticed and looked back at the medlab as well. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked softly.
"I don't know," Logan replied, surprised to find that his voice was shaking. "Did you kill Mystique?"
"No. Toad was there as well. Luckily, we surprised them before they could get us like they did the militia group." The jet shot off into the night, and Cyclops carefully brought it up above the level of the trees before continuing. "Our first priority was getting Carmen and her family out...but Xavier will be very interested in Mystique's plans."
"I'll bet." Logan poked a few buttons and managed to bring up the homing coordinates screen on the computer. He accepted the program, then sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "At least we got one of those sons-of-bitches."
"Correction...you got one of those sons-of-bitches," Cyclops said. He paused for a moment, then glanced sideways at Logan. "That was incredible, by the way...I've never seen you like that. Sabretooth didn't have a chance."
"Logan."
Jean had called him. He looked up to see her standing at the entrance to the medlab, her face tight with worry. "Can you come here?" she asked.
Logan looked at Scott, and he nodded. "Go ahead," Scott said. "I've got it for now."
He unfastened the seat restraints quickly and went to Jean. Carmen and her family were huddled together in the rear seats, their arms around each other tightly, but Logan barely spared them a glance. "What is it? Is she okay?" he asked.
"I've got her stabilized, but...she's calling for you, Logan," Jean replied. "She's becoming rather agitated."
Logan didn't need to hear more. He pushed past Jean and into the medlab, moving quickly to Ororo's side. Jean had left his bandages in place, but she had also started a plasma line and an IV drip into Ororo's left arm, recovering the rest of her body with the blankets.
"Logan..." Ororo moaned. Her eyelids fluttered open and came to rest on him as he sat on the stool beside her.
"Right here, sweetheart," he said gently. He freed her hand from the blankets and held it between both of his, not caring that Jean was still standing at the door watching him. "Feelin' any better?" he asked.
She closed her eyes. "Everything...hurts..." she whispered. "Don't leave me, Logan...please..."
"I won't leave you, darlin'," he said. Without really thinking about it, he brought her cold fingers up to his lips and kissed them tenderly.
She smiled weakly without opening her eyes. "Want to sleep now..." she said softly. Logan looked up at Jean, and she nodded.
"The danger of shock has passed," Jean said. "Sleep is probably the best thing for her."
Logan looked back down at Ororo. "Jean says its okay for you to rest now, 'Ro." He laughed a little. "I promise I won't make you talk to me anymore."
"And you won't leave me?"
"No. I'll be right here when you wake up," he replied. She seemed to relax then, and after a moment her chest began to rise and fall in the deep, easy rhythm of sleep. She looked so fragile...like a little girl. Logan held on to her hand and watched her sleep as Jean came and sat across from him on the other side of the gurney.
He looked up at Jean. "Thank you, " he said huskily. "You saved her life."
"So did you," Jean said, a soft smile on her face. She checked the shunt in Ororo's arm, then adjusted the blankets. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't know."
"Know what?" he asked. Jean looked up smiling and met his eyes with a steady gaze.
"That you're in love with her."
Logan stiffened. He tried to glare at Jean and think of some scathing retort, but nothing came to mind. Jean saw the expression on his face and laughed quietly.
"It's okay, you know," she said. "Really."
He didn't answer, preferring to look at Ororo's bruised face than Jean's knowing smile. Was Jean right? Hell...that was a stupid question...of course she was right.
Ororo stirred a little in her sleep, and he felt his heart grow tight. He loved her...and if he couldn't admit it to her, at least he could admit it to himself.
I love her...
"Does she know?" Jean asked. Logan shook his head.
"No," he said quietly. He looked up at Jean. "I'd like to keep it that way."
"But...why?" Jean asked, her eyes registering surprise. "What if she feels the same way about you?"
"She doesn't," Logan said shortly.
"But how do you know?"
"Because I'm not that lucky!" Logan snapped. "I mean it, Jean...not a word. Okay?"
Jean shook her head, then sighed. "All right, Logan...not a word. I promise."
He nodded. "Thanks."
She watched him in silence for a moment, then stood up. "I'm going to see if Scott needs any help bringing the Blackbird in," she said. "Will you be okay back here?"
"Yeah," he said. Jean nodded and moved up front, stopping a moment to talk with Carmen and her family. Logan couldn't hear what they were saying, but he didn't care either. Ororo needed him, and that was all that mattered.
The Blackbird screamed as she flew through the night sky, taking the battered team home.
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