The Calming Storm (Part Four)
Ororo sat in the doorway hiding her face in her hands. She sobbed quietly, trying not to upset Logan as he repeatedly asked if he could have the visor returned to him.
"Can I have the visor back now?"
His quiet, solemn tone became monotonous, and she cried a little harder each time he asked, his voice drifting across the darkened ‘cell’ as if asking the question for the very first time.
‘Is he even aware that he is repeating himself?’ she wondered. Each time he made his request the only thing Ororo could think about was how small… and how lost… and alone he sounded. Her shoulders shook as she cried her silent tears. Finally, Logan stopped asking long enough for Ororo to calm herself. As she wiped the tears from her face she heard him sniffing at the air. Ororo took a long, shaky breath as she regained control of her emotions and wiped her dampened palms against the skirt of her dress. As Logan sniffed the air again she turned her head to look at him.
"What’s wrong, Logan?" Ororo asked. And, although she tried to sound casual, her voice trembled from the effects of her released emotions. Logan sniffed the air again and Ororo swiveled around so she was facing him. His eyes were still closed and his brow was furrowed, either in concentration or confusion… she wasn’t sure. He held his chin high and his nostrils flared as he collected the scents from the air. "What is it, Logan?" she asked.
"Salt," he answered curiously. "There’s salt in the air."
"Like…" she sniffled, "when you’re at the beach?" she asked, wondering where his mind had taken him. Logan shook his head no, then replied quietly.
"Like… when somebody’s cryin’." Ororo was caught off guard and she looked at him not knowing what to say. "Are you cryin’?" he asked.
"No, Logan, I’m not crying. I’m fine," she answered, not wanting to upset him further.
"Oh," he replied. Then he lowered his head and gave it a quick shake as if he was trying to clear his thoughts. He forced air out through his nose dispelling the scents that he had collected. Then he mumbled something she couldn’t hear but, from the tone, Ororo realized that he had cursed himself.
‘Or cursed his senses for sending him the wrong message?’ Ororo suddenly realized her mistake. Logan already didn't trust his senses and, she realized, that by trying to protect him, she was only exacerbating his inability to trust what was real. "Oh, Logan… I’m sorry," Storm amended. "You are correct… I was crying."
"You were, huh?" he asked, but he no longer sounded like he would believe that.
"Yes, I was," Ororo admitted to him. Logan sat quietly, thinking and Ororo waited for him to respond.
"Why were you cryin’?" he finally asked.
"That’s what people do when they are upset," she told him.
"That’s not what people do when they’re upset," Logan countered. "When they’re upset… they hit… they cut… they hurt." Ororo looked at him, pondering the things that he told her and not knowing what to say. As she gazed at him he took a slow deep breath. Then he spoke.
"Are ya’ gonna hurt me now?" he asked calmly, preparing himself.
"Oh, goddess… no, Logan. I’m not going to hurt you."
"How come?" he asked.
"Because… I would never hurt you," she explained to him. "And, I’m not upset with you."
"So?"
"Why would I hurt you if I’m not upset with you?" she asked. Logan shrugged. He really didn’t know why people hurt him… only that they do.
"So why are ya’ cryin’?" he asked again.
"Because…" she said slowly, trying to think of the right words. "Because I am sad."
"Why are ya’ sad?" he asked. His voice sounded robotic, as if he was simply responding because he was expected to respond and it didn’t really matter to him why she was sad.
"I’m sad… because… someone hurt my friend. They hurt him real bad… and he doesn’t deserve it."
"Why did they hurt him then?" Logan asked, apparently not making the connection.
"Because they are mean people. And, they want something from him."
"And he doesn’t wanna give it ta them?" Logan asked.
"No… he doesn’t."
Logan nodded thoughtfully. "I know how he feels," he answered. Then he said, "An’ yer cryin’… ‘cause they hurt yer friend?"
"I’m crying… because they hurt you, Logan," she told him. Her answer made Logan pause. His forehead creased, making his eyebrows draw closer together. Then, to Ororo’s surprise, he opened his eyes and stared at the floor.
"Me?" he asked.
"Yes… you, Logan. You are my friend… and they hurt you. And that makes me very sad," she told him. Ororo watched Logan closely as he gazed at the floor. His eyes darted about as his thoughts began to race.
"Yer cryin’… fer me?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes." Ororo answered, swallowing hard.
"No one cries fer me," Logan replied softly.
"I do," Storm confirmed. Logan sat quietly, thinking about that. Then his face screwed up into a grimace as if he had a vile taste in his mouth.
"Don’t." he said simply. His response was unexpected and Ororo blinked at him.
"Don’t what?" she asked him.
"Don’t cry fer me," he said with a hint of anger in his voice. Ororo didn’t know how to respond at first. As she sat there trying to come up with a reply Logan turned his head and looked at her. His blue eyes, suddenly filled with anger, pierced through her. Ororo straightened herself, alert to his sudden change in behavior. Logan curled his lip back to snarl at her.
"Don’t EVER cry fer me!" he growled loudly.
"Logan…" she started to say.
"DON’T!!" he shouted, making Ororo jump. At that moment, the door to the infirmary lab opened and Hank entered, followed by the rest of the team. The first ones to enter the lab heard Logan shout and saw Ororo’s startled reaction. Hank marched straight toward her, upset that she had gotten that close to Logan while he was gone. Colossus followed him, while Jean went to the medical cabinet and Scott made his way to the safe. Nightcrawler, Rogue, Iceman and Gambit stood back and waited for their cue.
Ororo heard them enter and turned around just as Hank got to her. Concerned, he pulled her to her feet and Ororo gasped lightly in surprise. Logan saw McCoy grab onto Storm and haul her to her feet. Her startled reaction, although slight, was enough to trigger Wolverine’s protective response. He growled loudly when Ororo was dragged from view.
"Henry? What are doing?!" she demanded to know. Ororo looked at the rest of the team quickly, assessing their behavior and their actions. They were prepared for a fight. They had come for Wolverine. "Henry, don’t do this," she pleaded angrily. "Not like this!"
"We have no choice, Ororo. Don’t worry, we know what we’re doing," he assured her... or tried to. Ororo’s mouth hung open slightly as she shook her head at him in disbelief. Then she saw Scott coming toward them. He was holding the power-suppressing collar he had just taken from the safe.
"Henry, what are you planning to do?" Ororo demanded to know. As Jean came up to stand beside Scott, Ororo noticed that she was holding something wrapped in a towel. "What are you going to do?" Ororo asked Hank.
"It’s alright, ‘Ro," Jean tried to assure her friend, "he’ll be okay, I promise." Ororo stared at her, remembering what Logan had said about Jean.
"You can’t be a part of this," she told Jean. "You don’t understand…"
"He needs to be sedated, Ororo," Hank told her, not catching her comment to Jean. "We can’t sedate him as long as his healing factor is at full power. We’ll use the collar to take care of that," he explained to her as he ushered the team into position.
"No. Don’t do this. Not like this!" she said to anyone who would listen. Hank turned to her, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"Ororo, we need to control this situation. Logan is not in control of his faculties at the moment. He’s dangerous… to himself as well as the rest of the team. He needs to be in a controlled environment for his own well being… and for ours," Hank explained. Ororo glared at him and jerked her chin into the air defiantly.
"I will not be a part of this," she told him. "He needs time to adjust. Is that so much to ask? He just needs time!" She looked around at her teammates hoping for some support. When she saw that she would get none, Storm turned back to Hank. "I will not be a part of this!" she repeated, emphasizing each word. Hank sighed deeply and his reply was not what she'd expected.
"It’s probably best that you’re not," he agreed. Ororo’s mouth opened slightly in surprise and Hank explained. "If what we’re about to do affects him in a negative manner and I am sure that it will… he’ll need to have someone among us who is not associated with this event. Someone who will still have a chance to gain his trust. We all agreed… that you are the best choice for that undertaking." As Ororo continued to gape at him, Hank gently guided her backward out of the way and out of the immediate area. He stopped, leaving her to stand beside Jean who put a supportive hand on her arm. "You’ll be better off to remain here while we…"
"Take him down?" Ororo finished for him, the anger evident in her eyes. Hank looked at her sadly. He understood how she felt, Logan was his friend too. If he could think of another way… he would gladly choose the alternative. But they had lost too much time already. He knew now, that they should have begun aggressive treatment of Logan’s mental condition as soon as they had returned home with him. But they hadn’t been aware of it… not to this degree.
"Yes," Hank whispered. When it came right down to it, he had to admit, that’s exactly what they were doing. Taking Logan down - aggressively and quite physically, he was sure. Unable to bear Ororo’s angry glare any longer, Hank turned away. He slowly walked back to the team members who were quietly waiting for him as he brought his mind back to the task at hand.
Ororo watched as her friends entered the small chamber one by one. She could only imagine the level of Logan’s rising terror as he crouched there restrained – trapped! - slowly becoming surrounded by people he could not identify as friends. She wanted to put a stop to this, but as she stepped forward Jean wrapped her arm around Storm’s shoulder and held her to her spot. Ororo turned to Jean opening her mouth to rebuke her friend’s actions, but she froze. Hearing the angry and fear-filled sound of Logan’s feral growl Ororo felt her heart clench in her chest. ‘Oh goddess, what have we done?’
TBC in "The Calming Storm – Part Five"
