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Disclaimer: Still don’t own them, still wish I did… Have fun reading!


Chapter two:
A PIECE OF ADVICE


“Raaurgh!” The sound of shredding metal and snaps from broken electrical wires filled the Danger Room as opponent after opponent fell before the adamantium onslaught. Wolverine stood, electrical entrails dangling from his razor sharp claws, chest heaving, body gleaming with a fine sheen of perspiration, his face a dark scowl. “C’mon, is that all ya got!” His graveled voice hung in the air. He was angry. Angrier than he’d been in a while. Two months! She’d been gone two months and not a word. No letter, not a phone call, not even a damn e-mail, not that he used a computer anyway, but that wasn’t the friggin’ point. He growled and cut his mechanical opponent wide open.
“Geez, shugah. You gonna leave anything for us to play with?” Wolverine’s friend and fellow X-Man asked as she plowed through two of their android opposition. Despite her delicate features and southern belle drawl, Rogue was as tough as they came. Her dark brows drew together and she planted her fist firmly into the metal skull of the android attempting to rise. “Ya seem a bit…ugh…intense,” she grunted, tearing the head off the clearly defeated bot.
Wolverine raised a brow. “And I’m intense?”
Before she could respond a beam of pure red energy sent her flying into the far wall with a zing and thwap. “On your toes, People. This is a training exercise. Not a play date!”
“Aw, c’mon, Slim,” Wolverine bared his teeth. “Dontchya wanna play tag?” He gestured with his claws.
Scott Summers, leader of he X-men, was not easily intimidated and Logan was catching him on a bad day. He and Jean had been arguing again, and his temper was dangerously close to the surface. “All right, let’s play. Computer, end program. Run training session eighteen- partner me with…Storm.”
The illusionary, interactive environment of the Danger Room blurred and where their had once been the layout of an empty warehouse, the scenery changed into a lush forest complete with animals and natural smells. A visage of Storm appeared and simulated thunder shook the room.
“Figures.” Wolverine grumbled.
“Ah got Cyke,” Rogue said as she flew past him, her dark brown hair blowing behind her. “Ah owe him fer that cheap shot, you take Storm.”
“Yeah, yeah. Go team.” Wolverine crouched, running fast and low in the direction the simulated Storm had flown off. The Danger Room opponents were fast and deadly, as close to the real thing as you could get. Each member of the team, as well as several of their enemies traits had been uploaded into the system, making the training sessions as real and as accurate as possible. Often this gave the X-Men a tactical edge in battle, but made for some hard sessions. Wolverine had faced the computer generated Storm countless times over the years, even squared off against himself from time to time, but he had not faced her since he discovered his feelings ran deeper than he cared to admit.
Crouching, still as a stone, he listened for any movement. Storm was one of the stronger and more dangerous simulations, and he was taking no chances. He’d wait her out.
He didn’t have to wait long. The Storm-opponent was directly overhead. “Come to Papa!” He lunged, but she quickly whirled to her left, unleashing an electric bolt directly at him. Wolverine tucked and rolled. His speed and agility made him a very difficult target to hit with her lightening bolts, but the simulated Storm wasn’t out of ideas yet. The wind accelerated, forming a small funnel over head, lifting him off the ground and knocking him on his ass. She threw another bolt of electricity at him, but again he easily dodged the hit and grabbed one of her long, outstretched legs. He gave a hard yank and she came tumbling to the ground. The Storm-opponent glared up at him from her back. Although her eyes were as defiant as the real Ororo’s they were not nearly as bright, nor as engaging. Wolverine drew back *snikt* and faltered. He couldn’t do it. He knew this was only a simulation-- hell the damn thing didn’t even smell like ‘Ro, but he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t bring himself to slash those goddess-like features, to harm her in any way.
“Son of a-” He drove his claws into the soil just beside her head. “Tag.” The simulation shimmered and her image faded, leaving instead the shell of the droid duplicate. Wolverine quickly rose to his feet and headed for the door. He listened for a moment catching the sounds of Cyke’s optic blasts and Rogue’s unladylike cussing, before snatching up his towel and duffle. “I need a beer.”

{Several hours later}

“Thought I’d find you out here.”
Logan turned away from the railing and faced the woman he had once believed to be the love of his life. Her fiery red hair was piled neatly atop her head and she wore a dark sweater and jeans. “Jeannie.”
“You seem a million miles away. Care to talk about it?” She leaned against the railing next to him.
“Not particularly.” His eyes slid over her curves in the same lazy way they always did, but they reflected no interest, no animal lust, merely male appreciation for a truly beautiful specimen.
“A word of advice then.” Her gaze lifted to the stars, a faraway look in her eyes as well.
“Shoot, Red.”
“She’ll never know unless you tell her.”
Logan gave her a startled look. She tapped her forehead. “You’re projecting. Rather loudly I might add.” Her tone was mild but he could smell the tension that shimmered around her like a second skin.
“Red?”
Jean shrugged, her eyes still on the sky. “I can still feel it you know.”
“What?”
“The awesome power of the cosmos. Creation…Destruction. At my fingertips. I lie awake at night and try not to think of what it felt like. The power, the lust, the absoluteness of it all. You helped me through that time Logan. You and Storm and… Scott.” She hugged herself tighter. “I can feel him slipping away. He’s been so strong, such a constant. Never letting me fall, always with me. My best friend, you know?” She finally turned and looked at him. “My greatest love. And I feel him slipping away from me. Don’t let that happen to you, Logan. I can sense your true feelings, have for a while. But she can’t. You need to let her know, or you’ll lose Ororo forever. Like I am afraid I am losing Scott.” She touched his grizzled cheek. Her green gaze warm and tender. “She deserves to be loved, Logan. As do you. Good night.”

To be continued…





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