Something about the winding road that led to Xavier’s School: it never took as long to drive up it as it looked like it should. That had to be one of Xavier’s little mental tricks or something, so you felt welcomed or some bullshit. So you didn’t get to enjoy the gut wrenching feeling of dreading doom is more like it.
The large sandstone mansion was bathed in the early morning light, making it a dusty rose color. The stop at the last town at done his irritability no good. He still felt like he hadn’t slept in three days even though he got just about as good as sleep last night as he’s ever gotten.
He stopped the bike just outside of the garage. There were already a few kids running around on the front yard. He swore about the ‘damn eager go getters’ under his breath before stalking to the door. Before he went in he stopped, put off by something. His head corked to the side in confusion. Taking three steps back off the porch, his eyes settled on the large cardboard taped over one of the front windows. One eyebrow shot up at the sight. That was definitely not a baseball sized hole.
Shaking his head, he went into the mansion. He didn’t get very far into the entry way before Scott came heading towards him.
“Hey One-Eye, that stick still keeping your ass company?”
“Logan.” The other man shortly greeted and kept walking past and straight out the door.
“Okay...” Logan mumbled. “Weird thing number two. Something is definitely up around here.”
He barely got his heavily duffel bag adjusted on his shoulder before he felt Xavier trying to push his way into his brain. He fought the telepath, severely hating his favorite form of communication. But, as always, Xavier was too strong for him.
~”Wolverine.”~
~”Wheels.”~
~”Get yourself settled then come to my office. Please.”~
He shook his head, beginning the long trek up the grand stairs. ~”You gonna tell me what the hell is up with Summers?”~
~”I will tell you what I intend to tell you once you’re in my office. I know how much you hate to converse like this.”~
Then suddenly the professor’s pressure on his head was gone. He rolled his neck, letting the vertebra pop soundly back into alignment.
*********************
Logan stepped into the lavishly furnish office, slightly surprised that no one but Xavier was in there. Usually these were ‘team meeting’ or at least the ever vigil Ororo by his side. But now it was just Xavier, sitting behind his desk, scribbling away at something.
“Logan. Don’t just stand there, please. Have a seat.”
He shut the door and reluctantly moved into the room. He didn’t want to sit down. He preferred to get whatever responsibility speech the old man had prepared for him out of the way and just get out.
“Sit.” Xavier repeated again. Logan rolled his eyes and plopped down onto one of the leather chairs surrounding his desk.
“Thank you,” Xavier smiled slightly and pushed away the papers in front of him into a neat stack on the side. “Now. We’ve undergone a little bit of a change since you’ve left.”
“I figured.”
“Yes, well. You have amazing intuition, Wolverine. We have obtained a new member---”
“A what?”
“A new member. She is in need of quite a bit of help and guidance, but I think with the right approach she’ll be a valuable---”
“Cut the crap, Xavier. Who is it?” He ran through all the people he thought would piss Scott off but for the life of him couldn’t come up with someone Xavier would let on the team.
Charles seemed to ignore him and went on, “She’s having an extremely difficult time right now and the point of this institute is to provide help for any mutant who----”
“Stuff it, old man, and just tell me who you’ve signed up.”
Xavier took and deep breath. “Rogue.”
Logan’s dark blue eyes searched his for a minute, evidently the name hadn’t completely soaked into him. “Rogue?.... Wait. That little Brotherhood bitch? Mystique’s kid?”
At Xavier’s silence Logan shook his head. “You’re fucking with me, right? You know how many times that little whore drained me nearly fucking dry?! And then what she did to Carol--”
“Yes. I am familiar with her crimes, Wolverine. And as I recall you brought an extensive rap sheet of your own with you when you came here.”
A snarl spread onto Logan’s face. “Fuck you, wheels. I’ve done everything you’ve asked me to, trained your little troops here, saved---”
“Yes,” Xavier’s hand came up, stopping him again. “You are a valuable and important member to this team to which we all respect and trust. Now, that being said, I expect Rogue has the same possibility for greatness.”
“Fine,” Logan stood up from his chair. “Like I give a shit who you let on your team. I’ll even train your little Switching Suzie. But don’t expect me to trust her to guard my back.”
“I’ve never expected that from you at all. But listen, Logan. I don’t want you to train her right now.”
One eyebrow raised, Logan eased back down into his chair. “Ah, I get it. You don’t trust her either, eh?”
“No, that’s not it at all,” Xavier turned to look out the window to the kids running around outside before turning back to Logan. “She is simply in no condition for that kind of physical activity right now.”
“What? Mystique beat the shit out of her or something? That why she came running here?” Logan guessed.
“No. No, its nothing physical. Well, her mental issues are encroaching on her physical abilities. At any rate, it doesn’t matter. I just don’t want anyone to push her until I’ve had time to work with her.”
Logan laughed, slouching down into his chair. “Good luck getting no one to ‘push’ her. I don’t know if you’ve guessed or not, but I doubt very many people around here are going to be happy to see her.”
Xavier sighed, “Yes, I’m already aware of the animosity she has facing her. But everyone has been warned to act appropriately--”
“Well, don’t worry about me, wheels. I’ll be more than happy to stay the hell away from her.”
“Actually,” Xavier started, laying his hands on top of the desk. “That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. And the opposite of what I want you to do.”
“Excuse me?”
“I want you to stay close to her. Spend lots of time with her.”
“Fuck no! I don’t think---”
Xavier cleared his throat, making it clear he was annoyed about Logan’s interrupting him. “She is faced with a difficult time period right now. I believe you found you were meet with quite a bit of discomfort from the general population when you first came here.”
“What the hell does that have----”
“Therefore,” Xavier said loudly, an evident warning in his voice. “Therefore, you are the best equipped to help her through the transition. Since, it seems quite evident to me, the two of you have a great deal in common. Hopefully, she will be able to relate to you and thus not feel so ostracized. You will be like her ambassador to the school and the team.”
“You’re out of your damn mind, old man. I---”
“No. I can assure you I’m trying very hard to stay out of your mind and in my own. You are, however, projecting very loudly.”
Logan jumped to his feet, launching the chair away from him. “I am not some god damn babysitter.”
“No. You are a troubled man, who has been increasing more at peace since he’s been here and who has done a lot of good. And can do a lot of good for an extremely troubled young lady.”
“This is bullshit!” Logan roared.
“Be that as it may,” Xavier looked down away from him and began reaching for the papers he had previously stacked away. “I don’t believe our new resident has come down to eat. And, if I’m not mistaken, you have not been able to eat yet today either. Perhaps then, when you go to the kitchen, you could bring her something up when your done.”
Logan stared in shock, eyebrows tightly knit together, at Xavier who had evidently dismissed him and was now concentrating on his paper work. He had a thousand words coursing through his brain to yell at the telepath behind the desk. And it was a good thing he could probably sense them because Logan was too pissed to be able to say them.
“Good day, Logan. I’ll see you later,” Xavier spoke without so much as looking up.
Logan growled, but turned and stomped towards the door. When he grabbed the handle to jerk it open a thought suddenly occurred to him. “So who threw her through the window?”
“Storm.” He answered, again without looking up.
*******************
From his little meeting with Xavier he went straight to the kitchen. He piled as much food on his plate as he thought his metal enhanced arms could carry. And he carried it right into the one of the lounge TV rooms.
It only took one little snarl and the three tween brats that had been watching some reality show went running out, leaving him and the TV appropriately alone. He took his time eating his ‘brunch’ and watched the news. He wasn’t really interested or listening to anything they had to say. The weather was always different here than what they broadcasted anyways. But it ate up an hour of time. Then the hockey game started.
It was a great match between two *horrible* teams. It had to have been the first time he’d ever seen both teams scored at least seven points in any hockey game. And then he watched the thirty minute post-game show where they discussed how it was possible to score that many goals in one hockey game. Eventually the experts managed to come to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe, neither team was very good.
Finally, that done, his joints were getting stiff from sitting so long and he relinquished his control of the TV room. As soon as he stepped into the hall he was face with a rather disappointed looking Charles Xavier.
“Chuck,” he greeted him. Then belched.
“Aren’t you forgetting something, Wolverine?”
“Oh. Yeah. Excuse me.”
“Not that.” Xavier started to move away from him, but spoke to him over his shoulder. “You will go to the kitchen. Ms. Kline has already prepared a meal for her. You will take it up to her. And you will spend as much time with her as she can humanly stand you.”
Logan knew one thing, you never asked Xavier ‘or what?’, not someone who can have complete control over you. He usually knew just how to make you regret it.
**********************************
He rasped his knuckles against the door hard, making it vibrate under his fist. Still, no sound came from inside the room. If he wasn’t officially annoyed before this was definitely doing it. Not being a man of patience he moved to bust the door open, only to find it was already unlocked.
The room was bathed in relative darkness. All the late afternoon light from the open window was shining directly onto the large bed. The empty large bed.
“Well if it ain’t mah favorite beast-man,” the familiar deep southern drawl floated over to him from somewhere to his left.
He turned his head to find the girl curled up in a armchair beside the desk. She was wearing grey ‘X-Men’ issued sweats that had to be at least three sizes too big for her. There was a smile- no, smirk- on her face, but he couldn’t help but notice how faint and weak it looked. She hadn’t even lifted her head off of her arms that were folded on top of her knees.
“You’re forgettin’ Creed,” He growled as he shut the door.
“Naw, Wolverine. Ah like ya a helleva lot betta than Creed.”
“I brought you food,” he grunted, nearly throwing it down on the desk near her.
“Ah don’t think ah can eat it.”
“The hell you can’t. You’re going to eat ever damn bite.” As he moved closer he could tell both her arms were shaking. He discreetly sniffed the air around her. She didn’t smell afraid, just like honey and roses. Then he notice the movement in her feet too, and he seriously doubted she was tapping them.
He pulled out the desk chair and moved it farther back, away from her, before he sat down. “What the hell is the matter with you? You’re twitchin’ like a fucking Chihuahua.”
She rubbed a gloved hand over her eyes, scrubbing her face hard. “It’s Carol. Ah don’t have control over mah own damned body. Now its ‘our’ body. And I want it back, before she kills us both.”
He leaned back into his chair, crossing his hand behind his head. “Good. It’s your own damn fault.”
“Ya,” she snorted sarcastically. “Didya eva do anythin’ you didn’t want ta do? But ya did it jus’ because you were asked? — You were expected to?”
“I’m here ain’t I?”
Another exhausted smirk crawled onto the ashen face of a girl looking much older than her age. “Ya. And its ya own damn fault.”
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