After his sixth beer, Logan had calmed considerably. He'd gone down to the danger room to kick the shit of out some computer generated enemies. Beer, like most other drinks could not get him drunk. There was only one poison that could effectively make him see double but he didn't want to go down that path again. Beer helped numb things, gave him the buzz he needed but nothing more.
After a quick cool down run, he headed back to his room. Marie was lying on her stomach in one of his flannel shirts, reading a book she must have borrowed from the expansive library downstairs. She'd pick up on reading quickly, advancing each time to a more complicated book. She was now reading pre-teen romance novels which made Logan cringe inside.
Her long slender legs poked out from the hem, which was precariously near her arse, in her rumpled state. He'd never minded nudity before but the more she filled out, the more attractive she became, the more he minded. To him, she was still that kid he rescued. She was sweet and innocent, his Marie. He didn't want to share her with anyone.
Marie's body had become considerably more womanly over the weeks. She was still small and skinny but now she had hips, a slight swell in her chest where her breasts were. She was becoming healthier by the day and Logan was glad. Of course, he wanted her to be happy and healthy.
Storm had taken her shopping for clothes; after all, she couldn't wear her unicorn t-shirt every day. At this point, she must have brought her some under wear because this was something Logan, being a man, had over looked. He could see the strap of her bra peaking out the shoulder of his shirt. And why did she insist on wearing his when she now had her own.
He sat on the edge of the bed, watching her. Without taking her eyes off the book, she stretched her arm back, reaching out for Logan to join. He smiled, kissing the palm of her hand before lying beside her. He picked up a brush from the bedside table.
"You buy this today?" Marie nodded once, still reading. Her hair was growing long and silky. Logan brushed it, marvelling in its thickness. Just a few weeks ago, her hair as been limp and fragile, the roots in bloody taters from the torture she had endured.
"I'm just going to have a shower, okay honey?" Again she nodded. Logan kissed the top of her head and started for the bathroom.
The shower started as just a way to wash of the grime and sweat from the workout. He washed his hair with soap and then his body. It wasn't until he'd worked down to below his torso he realised he had a problem.
He'd bumped into to something that had happened by thinking about Marie. His innocent little Marie. He knew he shouldn't be having thoughts like this but he had to get rid of it somehow.
Afterwards, Logan was ashamed of himself. She's been the fragile, malnourished girl he'd rescued. He'd watched her grow up before his very eyes and he knew he couldn't think of her in that way. He buried his face in his hands. Goddamnit he really needed to get fuckin' laid!
A knock on the door brought him out of his stupor. It was the main door and he quickly wrapped a towel around himself before answering. Marie wrapped herself a little tighter in the blankets.
It was jean. Her face, puffy and bruised, was streaked with tears. Her lip was spilt, bleeding down onto her chin.
"I need to come in." Logan stood aside as she came in and collapsed to floor in tears.
"Jean? What happened?"
"It's Scott! He found out!" Logan shot Marie a look. She didn't know what happened. Why should he feel guilty about this, they weren't together.
"He went crazy, I've never seen him in such a rage before… he hit me.." Jean's breath came in short pants as she tried to form words around her sobs. All Logan could do was stand and watch. He always felt helpless in these situations.
Marie unfurled herself from the covers. She slid to the floor beside the redhead and bit her lip uncertainly before raising her hand to delicately cup Jean's cheek. Jean started but relaxed as soon as she realised the kid wasn't going to hurt her. She blinked three times before a look of great understanding came over her face. Logan could tell Marie had just shared some of her own memories with her.
"That's not the worst of it." Jean fought back a fresh wave of tears. "He wants to get revenge on you too.. he called Eric Lehnsherr!"
"Why, what does that bastard have to do with anything?"
"He wants the girl. Scott told him that she's a class five mutant. He's coming for her and he won't stop until he possesses her. You know he will kill us to get to her if he has to."
"FUCK!"
"Logan, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault." Marie took Jean into her arms in such an affectionate, motherly way Logan would have believed the two females were close. She whispered a soft "shhh." And smoothed her hair back the way Logan did hers. He was in shock; he'd never heard her speak to anyone else but him before. Logan bent down so he was eye level with both.
"I need your help to keep Marie safe." He hesitated after saying her name. That one thing seemed to be his, something he didn't want to share with anyone else. But if Marie had spoken to Jean, he guessed it was fair to tell her the kid's name.
"Although she is much stronger now she is still vulnerable. Eric is a very powerful mutant and with Scott by his side, well.." he didn't like the idea of where the end of his sentence was going.
"I will, I swear." Jean replied solemnly.
…
Logan waited up all night, watching over Marie as she slept restlessly in bed. He wasn't going to be taken by surprise. Magneto wouldn't know what hit him. The other teachers took it in shifts, keeping watch over the school. Hopefully their team would be strong enough to over come whatever the brotherhood had in store.
Around four am, Logan heard a scream which shattered the silence of the sleeping mansion. He poked his head out of the door and saw Jean, sleepy in her dressing gown, doing the same.
"Who was that?" she cried.
"It's Storm's shift, she must be in trouble." Logan's heart pounded. The weather witch had been one of the only people in the past who understood his need for solitude, his yearning to be alone, but she was always there if he needed to talk. He needed to help her.
"You go, I'll watch the girl." Logan glared at her, considering if it was worth the risk.
"There's not enough time Logan, go!"
He took of down the hall at breakneck speed, following his nose down two flights of stairs. Damn Jean's perfume filling his nostrils, he couldn't smell as well as he normally did.
Storm was lying in a pool of her own blood in the kitchen, her shaking hands clutched around a stab wound in her abdomen. Somebody let out a cry behind him and Logan whipped around to see Jean dressed in her X uniform, lips parted, hand at her heart in shock.
"Jean! You were supposed stay upstairs!"
"I was never upstairs tonight; I've been patrolling the lower levels." And he saw the unsightly purple bruise on her face where Scott had hit her earlier that day. The Jean upstairs had been free from marks.
Logan realized all too late that it was a ploy to lure him out of his room, where the prize lay. Cursing, he turned and bolted back up the stairs three at a time. He couldn't believe he'd been so stupid as to leave Marie all by herself, defenceless.
By the time he got back to the room, the girl was gone. The curtains billowed out in the wind, the darkness of the night closing in from the open window. The bed sheets were still warm from where her body lay moments ago. A lock of her hair had been sliced off and Logan took it between his fingers.
Logan shouted obscenities, screamed in the pillows before unsheathing his claws and ripping them to shreds. He smelt revenge and revenge smelt like his brother Victor.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for keeping you waiting folks, I'm trying to get over this little bit of writers block. I'm not good at writing action scenes but I have a killer ending planned. *hehe*
Chapter End Notes:
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