“Welcome back,” the Professor said to Logan as he entered the infirmary.
“Thanks. How long was I out?” Logan asked, sitting on the side of the bed. He absently rubbed his stomach as his body called for some much needed food.
“About thirty minutes,” Charles replied, his hands going into their trademark poise, “I take it you made contact with the girls?”
“Yeah, we did,” Logan replied, remembering the night, “But we need to move fast on this one.” Considering their situation, Logan wanted to truncate their normal timetable for Ororo and Anna.
“Why is that?” Charles asked.
“They’re livin’ on the street, stealin’ from people to survive. It’s only a matter of time before they cross the wrong person,” Logan replied, getting to his feet and taking his wallet off the table, the thought of Ororo or Anna getting hurt making him anxious.
Seeing the wallet, Charles said, “I see. Jibril mentioned that the girls stole your wallets but you were able to retrieve them?”
“Yeah,” he said, counting the bills in the wallet. Four missing, he thought and was surprised to see a handwritten IOU in the back of the wallet. He smiled to himself.
“I also heard you were dancing,” Charles said, taking in the smile on the feral mutant’s face.
“Yeah. Do whatever it takes for the mission, right?” Logan told him, “If there is nothing else, Chuck, the steak and fries they cooked tonight is calling my name.”
“Very well. So when do you want to go back to find the girls?” Charles asked, as the infirmary doors opened and Scott Summers walked in. Scott served as the full team’s leader and lead of the Alpha Team.
“Hey Logan. Heard you blew your first mission,” Scott Summers said cockily, stopping in front of them.
“Not a good time, Summers,” Logan said, not in the mood to hear his mouth. He and Summers had been bumping heads since Logan came to the mansion. First it was over some macho, alpha male bullshit but then it became a competition to see who would win the hand of the beautiful Jean Grey. Though she was older, Logan still felt he was a strong contender for her heart.
But he was wrong. Scott won her and, though older and one of the new teachers at the institute, he took every opportunity to gloat and rub Logan’s face in it. Now as pseudo equal team leaders, Scott always looked for a chance to make him look bad in front of the Professor. Like now.
“Why not? I heard that instead of getting the job done, you spent all your time dancing with the chick and got your wallet stolen in the process,” Scott said snidely, his arms crossed in front of his chest.
“Fuck off, One-Eye,” Logan growled warningly.
“Logan, calm down,” the Professor told him and waited until the mutant relaxed his stance a bit, “Scott, why are you here? Shouldn’t you and Team Alpha be in the Danger Room?”
“I came to offer Alpha’s services to complete Omega’s failed mission.”
“Why you…” Logan said, taking a step closer to Summers but stopping when the Professor lifted a hand.
“Who said the mission was a failure?” the Professor asked.
“I assumed it was, since the girls aren’t here.”
“Scott, you do know what they say about people who assume,” the Professor said, maneuvering his chair around his pupil, “Come Logan. You can tell me how you plan to complete the mission as we make our way to the kitchen.”
“See ya, One Eye,” Logan replied, chuckling as he followed the Professor.
“Are you okay?” Anna asked her sister for the fourth time since they got back to the “spot” as they called it.
“Will you quit asking me that?” Ororo replied before taking a bite of the chicken fried rice they picked up at the 24 hour Chinese Restaurant on the way home.
Home, she thought, having no desire to call the dilapidated warehouse home. They discovered the place while out scouting for a place to live. They watched the building for a few days before deciding that it would do as a temporary home base for them. They turned one of the small rooms near the restroom into a livable space. They lucked out with the place because it still had running water. Ororo was sure that someone would come to inspect the place one day but until then, it was home.
“Not until you tell me why you’re moping around? Hopefully not because of that guy you just met. You don’t owe him a damn thing. Just a job, remember?” Anna replied, pointing at her spare rib at her.
“Get that out my face,” Ororo said, swiping the rib and tossing it to the floor.
“Hey, that was mine. Why you being a bitch?” Anna asked angrily, picking up her other spare rib and taking a bite.
“I told you about calling me that,” Ororo said softly, her anger apparent in her tone.
“Then stop acting like one, especially over some white dude who just wanted to see what it was like to get it on with a black girl.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yeah I do, he was just acting interested so he could get you somewhere so he could hit it.”
“Really? Then do I say the same thing about Jibril?”
“Nah,” Anna replied quickly, licking the sauce from her hands, “Jibril was really into me.”
“Yeah right,” Ororo replied, laughing, never able to stay mad at her sister.
“But for real, sis. What’s wrong?”
“I was thinking about Logan. He works at a school. I was wondering if we could talk to the person in charge to see if they would give me a job and let you in as a student. Maybe ask Logan to let us crash at his place for a bit until we got on our feet.”
“Yeah right. I think I’m the last person Logan wants to see after I caved his face in with that pipe,” Anna replied, sitting beside her, wanting to believe in her sister’s optimistic thoughts.
“Well, I won’t know unless I ask, right?”
“Yeah but how do you get in touch with him?”
“I think he’ll be back at the club soon.”
“Really? Why you say that?”
“Just a feeling, Anna. Just a feeling.”
Logan found himself driving the Charger the following night, heading back to Club Fire. He knew it was a risk to assume that Ro would be at the club but it was worth a try.
“So what’s de plan, fearless leader?” Remy asked, riding shotgun.
“Find ‘er, talk to ‘er, tell ‘er the truth and see what happens,” he replied, looking for a park in the lot adjacent to the club.
“Sometimes people can’t handle de truth,” Remy said, as they walked toward the short line. It was 10pm, still early in the world of club goers.
“Believe me, she can definitely handle it,” Logan replied, his eyes scanning the surrounding area, looking for signs of Ro or her sister.
“Do you really think he will be back tonight?” Anna asked as she stood next to her sister, sipping on a coke, a rarity for her.
“I hope so, especially if we want to talk to him about our idea,” she replied, sipping her Shirley Temple.
“Our idea? Naw big sister, that’s your idea. I’m not claiming that one,” she told her, kissing her cheek, “I’m going to make my rounds.”
“Alright but be careful and keep a watchful eye.”
“Don’t I always?” Anna replied, melting into the crowd.
Ororo shook her head, smiling after her sister, and continued scanning the room, hoping against all hope that Logan would show up.
“Miss me, darlin’?” he asked, startling her, the drink in her hand crashing to the floor.
“Logan,” Ororo breathed, hitting his shoulder, “Don’t do that.”
“Yeah, I know. I scared da mess out of ya,” he replied, chuckling.
“Yes you did. I can see that me having a drink while you’re around is going to be hazardous to my budget,” she replied, smiling, happy to see him.
“I guess so. Would ya like me to get ya another?”
“No, let me get you one. A friend of mine let me borrow a few dollars,” she replied turning to the bartender and ordering herself another Shirley Temple and him a coke.
“Ya remembered,” he said, taking a swallow of the cold drink.
“Yes. It’s the least I can do since you were so generous,” she replied, suddenly shy.
“Yeah, about that,” he began, finishing off the drink and taking her hand, “I have an idea on how to cash in that IOU. Care to discuss it on the dance floor?”
She grew nervous when the conversation turned to the money she “borrowed” from him. But when he asked her to dance, she couldn’t help but smile. “Yes,” she said, allowing him to help her off the stool. Still holding hands, they headed out to the dance floor.
Though the crowd around them danced in time with the up-tempo beat, Logan led Ororo in a slow dance.
“Logan, um, the song is moving a bit faster than we are. Shouldn’t we kick it up a notch?” she asked, looking around them as other club goers worked themselves into a frenzy as LL Cool J’s Headsprung blasted through the speakers. DJ MiNo was spinning on the ones and twos tonight and he was bringing down the house with the old school flava.
“Yeah but eventually the music will slow down,” he said, making her chuckle, “Besides, it’s easier to talk this way. Ya can hear me and I can hear ya.”
“Okay, you got me there,” she replied as the DJ pulled out an old school reggae song, Chaka Demus & Pliers Murder She Wrote.
“See what I mean,” he said moving a bit faster, making her laugh as she followed him, never moving too far from him.
“Now, about that IOU,” he replied as they heard a shout over the music.
“Bandit!!” a female voice cried out as an angry male voice responded.
“Anna,” Ororo told Logan, a scared look marring her face. She turned without another word and headed in the direction of the commotion, with Logan hot on her trail.
She fought her way to the center of the circle where the angry man pushed Remy who immediately closed the distance between them and punched him the face twice before the man hit the floor. Ororo rushed over to where her sister stood, tears flowing from her eyes.
“Get her out of here,” Logan shouted to her as he grabbed Remy off the guy. Logan smelled the gunpowder before he saw the gun and turned to put himself in between Remy and the guy.
Ororo’s eyes met his as she heard the gunshots and watched in horror as he and Remy fell to the ground. The guy got up and pointed the gun at her and her sister. With a flick of her wrist, she snatched the gun from his hand and sent a bolt of electricity from her fingertips, sending the man to the floor, shaking from the electric shock.
“We got to get out of here,” Remy yelled, pulling Logan to his feet as his wounds closed, the bullets falling to the floor. People had taken cover when they heard the gunshots, creating a clear path to the door.
Ororo went to Logan’s other side and put his arm around her shoulders, ignoring the heavy weight on her shoulders and the blood that seeped into her clothes. With her sister leading the way, they headed out the building and rushed to the car, barely missing the cops that screeched to a stop in front of the club.
Ororo sat in the back with Logan as Anna rode shot gun.
“Will he be alright?” Anna asked, her voice hoarse from crying.
“Yeah. Takes him a minute to bounce back,” Remy replied, leaving the parking lot, “Where we headed?”
Anna turned toward Ororo, who looked up when he asked the question. Ororo nodded and her sister told Remy where to go.
“Thank you Remy for protecting my sister,” Ororo replied, looking up from Logan’s face, his head cradled in her lap to the rearview mirror.
“Yeah, thank you Remy. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come to my rescue,” she whispered, her voice wavering a bit, fighting back tears.
“Ya okay, petite?” Remy looked over at the girl.
“Yes. No,” she replied quietly, sniffing a bit, her face turned to the window.
It made Ororo angry to hear her sister cry but she knew they were safe. At least for the moment.
“Shh, petite. It be okay,” Remy said, reaching out and patting her hand comfortingly. She looked over at him and gave him a small smile.
“Remy just hates that Logan got hurt in the fight. But Remy grateful though. He saved Remy’s life,” Remy said, his eyes back on the road.
“Gotta look out for my peeps,” Logan said huskily. Ororo looked down and smiled down at him as he gazed up at her.
“How you doing?” she asked, softly touching his cheek.
“Tired but okay. What about ya? Ya’ll alright?” Logan asked, sitting up, immediately missing the warmth of Ro’s lap and her touch.
“We’re fine,” Ororo replied.
“Fine?! That be an understatement. This fille laid ole boy on his back!” Remy said proudly, turning at the traffic light as Anna directed.
“Really?” Logan asked, looking over at Ororo who shrugged slightly.
“He shot you and was about to shoot me and my sister. I did what I had to do,” she replied as they stopped in front of their home.
Ororo looked away from Logan’s face, not wanting to see the look on his face as he gazed at the warehouse.
“This is home?” Remy asked, shocked. Logan didn’t share what Ororo told him with the rest of the team.
“For now. It’s dry and keeps us warm at night,” Ororo replied quickly, reaching for the door, “Thanks for the lift.”
“Ro, wait,” Logan said, reaching out and grabbing her hand, stilling her movements.
“Ya don’t have to live this way,” he told her, his words stopping Anna’s movements.
“What do you mean?” Ororo asked, her mind racing, unsure what his words meant.
“Remember the recruiting trip I told ya about?”
“Yeah, so?” Ororo replied.
“We were sent to recruit ya,” Remy said, turning off the ignition.
“What? How did you know about us?” Anna replied, turning in her seat, looking from Remy to Logan.
“It’s a long story but the general gist is we’re students at a school fer mutants,” Logan replied, still holding Ororo’s hand, watching her face for her reaction, “We have a machine that helps us identify and locate humans with the X gene. We seek them out and offer them a place at our school in exchange fer their assistance in helping us fight fer mutant rights.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this yesterday?” Ororo asked.
“It’s not really something you tell someone when you first met them,” he replied, repeating her words back to her, making her smile.
“Okay, say we believe this crazy story ya’ll just told us,” Anna replied, glancing back at her sister before looking at Logan and Remy, “What do we get if we say yes? I mean, is there a check that comes along with this or are we just being drafted?”
“Well, you’ll be living in a mansion with all the food ya can eat, going to school and learning how to control yer gifts,” Logan replied.
“Plus, there be tennis courts, rec rooms, two libraries, a lake, a pool,” Remy said, stopping when he heard Anna make a noise.
“Okay, I’m sold. You had me when you said mansion, lake and pool,” she replied, her eyes shining excitedly, “Ro, what do you say?”
Ororo looked up when she heard her name and saw the excitement in her sister’s tearstained face. The memory of their conversation from earlier flashed in her mind as well as the incident at the club. She hated seeing that scared look on Anna’s face and knew what happened at the club was proof that something had to change, before either one of them got hurt or worse.
But now that the something had manifested, Ororo was unsure. Things sounded too good to be true. She looked down at her hand, swallowed by Logan’s large one and looked over at him when he said her name. She felt the eyes of the others on her but she could not bring herself to meet their stares.
“I need to go. Excuse me,” she said, hurriedly, opening the door, simultaneously extracting her hand from his grasp.
“Ro!” Logan called out, opening his door and hurrying around it, following her as she walked purposefully toward the building.
“Ro,” Anna said and went to open the door but Remy touched her arm.
“Wait, petite. Let Logan talk to ‘er first,” Remy said softly and surprisingly Anna stayed put. Normally she didn’t like being told what to do by anyone other than Ro but she felt she owed Remy for saving her ass back at the club.
When he stepped in and gently pushed her behind him, she immediately thought that was a big brother move. She appreciated it and it made her feel like she could trust him, which for her was a big deal because she didn’t trust anyone but Ro.
She and Ro had been through a lot together and though they didn’t share the same blood, they were still sisters and she would be damned if she let anyone hurt her. With that thought, she kept her eyes trained on Logan as he jogged to catch up with her sister.
“Ororo, wait,” he said, catching up with her and grabbing her arm. When he turned her to face him, he saw the tears in her eyes. “Why did ya run?”
“How do I know what you’re telling us is the truth?” she said angrily, tears spilling down her face, knowing what was going to happen next. The skies grew darker as a gentle rain began to fall from the clouds.
“Why would I lie to ya? Especially after all we’ve been through in the last two days?” he asked, holding her arms loosely.
“We’ve been lied to before. They said they came to help but all they really wanted to do was to turn us out and put us on the street,” she said, crying harder, afraid of the making the wrong choice again. She wanted so much to believe him. She wanted to believe that God had heard her prayers and was using Logan to answer them.
“Ororo, think about it, darlin’. Why would I come back after ya ripped me off and yo sister knocked me out cold if I was just trying to put ya on the street?” he asked, ignoring the water that fell into his eyes, “Considering how ya nearly kicked my ass and the way yo sister swings, I would be signing my death certificate if I was considering doing anything that would piss ya off.”
He saw her slight smile and lifted her chin so he could look her in his eyes.
“Let me help ya. Let us help ya,” he amended, hearing Remy and Anna approach them.
“Please Ro, we just talked about this this morning,” Anna said, going to stand by her sister, having heard the last thing Logan said to her. He dropped his hold on Ororo and took a step back, giving the sisters space.
“But what if it’s a trick like last time? Don’t you remember what happened?” Ororo whispered, the rain coming down a bit harder, soaking them.
“It won’t be. Remember what you told me this morning? I believe this is God’s answer to your prayer,” she said, her sister’s eyes widening when she mentioned God’s name, “Yeah, I said it.”
Ororo shook her head, not believing her sister who always fought against the idea of God and didn’t believe He existed, was standing in front of her saying the situation was what Ororo hoped.
“We need to do this,” Anna continued, hugging her sister tight, her own tears camouflaged by the rain that covered her face. Pulling away, Anna wiped her sister’s face, taking on the role as comforter. Leaning in, she whispered, “And besides if it’s not on the up and up, you can zap them.”
Ororo laughed and swatted at her sister, who ducked the lick. “Can we got get our stuff now? Cause you know how I am about large bodies of water?”
“Yes,” Ororo said, making Anna squeal with joy, hugging her sister tightly.
“Come on, ya’ll. You can help us grab our stuff.”
