Logan walked with the kid down to the med bay, holding her small hand in his just to be on the safe side. The downstairs halls had too much of a clinical feel about them. Sterile metal walls. Cold re-circulated air. It reminded him of the lab in many more ways.
The girl could feel it too; her heart was pounding in her chest. It was more than that though. He thought the girl could sense what he could, taste the disinfectant, smell the warm bodies in the room at the end of the corridor.
"Everything is going to be okay kid, I promise." She looked at him uncertainly, her nostrils flaring as he pulled her against his chest. "I won't let them hurt you, y'understand?" She relaxed a little against his chest. Logan kissed the top of her head before opening the steel door.
"Logan, so glad you could finally join us." Great, Scooter was here too. Logan tried his best to ignore him. The professor sat quietly in the corner, seeming to be contemplating something that required great concentration.
"Hello Logan." Jean came forward, her lab coat gleaming white. Her hair and make up were immaculate, long fingernails manicured and she was wearing killer high heels. Professional but slightly overdressed for the occasion. Logan could her smell desire as he watched her pretty green eyes darken.
"Hi Jean." He replied. She smiled at him warmly before bending down to speak to the girl.
"Hi there sweetie, would you mind if I take a look at you now?" the kid looked up at Logan, scared of what she didn't understand. He rubbed her back encouragingly. When she still didn't respond, he picked her up and carried her to the examination table, the girl letting out a whine when he placed her down.
She was shaking so much her knees knocked together in a nervous twitch. Her wide brown eyes, like a pool of melted chocolate, were so intently focused on Logan he thought she could see into his soul. Like she understood him. Like she knew what he was thinking.
"Be brave, okay baby." He whispered to her. She mouthed the word brave back to him, her top teeth grazing into her bottom lip at the end of the word.
Jean placed her fingers on the girls' temples, closing her eyes for better concentration. She stayed like that for a minute, every passing second becoming a bit more frustrated. Her forehead creased and hands shook with the effort she was putting into her mutation. She let go quickly, staring at the girl without the warmth she had before.
"Nothing." She exclaimed.
"What do you mean nothing? You can't read her thoughts?" Scott asked in a shocked tone.
"Well I can see something but I don't think they are her memories. It's like I'm watching clips from a movie or something."
"What do you mean?" Logan asked slowly.
"I can see.. other peoples memories.. I can see your memories Logan.. and lots of others I don't recognize.. I'll need to run a few more tests, take a few samples of blood."
Jean turned to a table and removed the blue cloth covering it. Laid out with exact precision were an array of shiny metal objects. Medical equipment. She slid on a pair of latex gloves and came at the girl with an empty syringe, tipped with a long needle.
The kid struggled and tried to escape but Logan held her still by the shoulders. "It's alright kid, look at me! Everything is alright." She looked up at Logan, fear prominent on her face before squeezing her eyes shut tight.
Logan watched the needle break the surface of her skin. Everything else happened so fast. Jean let out a shriek and crumpled to the floor, her antelope-like legs folding beneath her. Scott rushed towards her, catching her head in his hands. All the papers and medical instruments levitated from the tables, as if gravity had been switched off.
And the hole where the needle mark should have been closed over before Jean hit the ground.
"JEAN! What the hell just happened?" he checked her pulse.
"I've seen this before." The professor rolled his wheelchair out from behind a desk, his face set solemnly. "Only once. He was a class five mutant, very powerful but also very much in control of it. Jean is okay, only knocked out. She just sent out a message to me."
Logan didn't care about Jean at that moment. "You think she's a mutant?" he pushed away a sheet of paper floating by his ear like it was an irritating insect.
"Yes, I think she is. This man I knew could take powers from others and use it as he pleased."
"What happens to the mutant once their powers have been taken?"
"They die. His mutation was so powerful that it also sucked the life force out of the person he touched."
"What does that mean for my fiancé?" Scott yelled.
"Jean will be fine with some bed rest; she only touched the smallest section of her skin. Any more contact could have been fatal. I think we need to keep a closer eye on this girl, help her learn about her mutation so she can't hurt anyone else."
"I'll take Jean up to our room." Scott carried jean out, one shoe hanging precariously from her toes, the other lay on the floor.
Logan looked back at the kid, still with her eyes squeezed shut. He gently stroked her hair back, careful not to come into contact with her milky skin. The girl's lashes fluttered open, she looked woozy. A child awakening from an afternoon nap. All the floating objects fell back to the ground, the papers fluttering out over the floor.
"Professor, did you see how she healed just then?"
"Yes Logan, I believe she has inherited some of your traits. Tell me, did she use her power on you?"
"I didn't know what it was at the time, I got knocked out."
"What was her state of mind?"
"She was having a nightmare.."
"That explains a lot.. her power only shows itself when she is in what her mind perceives as danger. Considering her past, doctors are perceived as a strong threat to her."
Logan tried to take it all in. "But I've never hurt her, not even made her feel uncomfortable."
"Well if she has your memories, it's not too far of a stretch to think she may be dreaming your nightmares? After all, there are horrors in your past that a young girl can't even begin to imagine."
"How old do you think she is professor?"
"Possibly sixteen or seventeen?"
"When I found her, it was so hard to tell; she was so small and malnourished. She's made amazing recovery in that time."
"That would be thanks to you Logan, you should be proud. Now, take her back to her room to rest. I'll start training with her tomorrow."
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I want to thank my new follower Nebelwerfer42 – Jambo! (Just so you know, I'm a massive fan of your stories!) please R&R everyone x
Chapter End Notes:
I've just realised my story is very similarly named to another Rogan story. This was completely unintentional but I guess that will happen when you've read almost all of them.