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CHAPTER TWO

It was about half past four, as Logan stood on the street corner near the entrance to a dark alley, waiting for Gambit to finish his business. After a few moments the disheveled Cajun emerged from the dark alley, wiping his pale lips with the sleeve of his jacket. He looked a royal mess, and there was a part of the Wolverine that regretted subjecting the man to one of his harsh all-night benders. Remy was a good friend, but ultimately a fool in believing he could keep up with Logan’s notorious drinking abilities.

As LeBeau matched steps with Logan, he noted how quiet the older man had become as they made their way back to the apartment Logan’s friend used as a crash-point. It wasn’t really Remy’s place to open the sort of wounds he knew Logan was tending right then, but he felt some morbid curiosity along with the concern of a friend. “So, mon ami… What now?”

His hands buried deep in his blue jeans, Logan didn’t answer initially, only smiling sadly to himself as he acknowledged that was probably as close as Gambit dared to come in asking about his personal life. As much as Remy wasn’t used to opening those injuries, neither was Logan at all comfortable showing them to others. He’d gradually amended his usual M.O. of going off into a corner somewhere alone to lick his wounds in peace; eventually including the fun-loving but deeply loyal Cajun in his inner circle. It was a tight spot usually reserved only for the likes of Jubilee, Kitty, or Jean…

“Jean…” Wolverine breathed slowly, feeling very much unlike himself talking about this at all. “That’s what you mean, kid?”
Feeling a little too close to the fire, Remy quickly said, “F’get it, oui, ami? S’okay.”
Shaking his head, Logan pushed forward a bit. “Naw, it’s alright. I know you mean well, Cajun. It’s just…you know. Hard. I don’t do this shit a lot. But you’re a good man. Good friend. I didn’t thank ya proper…for givin’ me that Heads Up.”
“Don’ mention it, Logan…”
“Heh. Too bad nobody else in that damned place had the balls to do what you did.”
Remy shrugged, somewhat at a loss. Exactly how many people living in the mansion knew about Jean and Scott’s affair is still unclear. Some of those Logan had openly confronted insisted it was none of their business, while others would still have him believe they had no idea. It was unsettling indeed not to know who to trust anymore. Logan knew one thing, however; he could still smell a liar, and there was a list of people he’d have to contend with when he returned to Westchester.

If he returned to Westchester.

As if sensing Logan’s indecision, Remy clasped his arm momentarily for his attention. “At least wait ‘til Xavier get back, eh? Talk to the Prof. He’s good at dis sort of stuff.”

A trademark snort escaped Logan as they entered the neighborhood; a part of NYC where not many people walked the streets at that hour. “’Preciate the advice, Rem, but with all this mutant Registration bullshit goin’ on, I think Chuck has a lot more important things ta worry about than mutant melodrama. Besides, who knows how long he’s gonna be down in D.C.? And, as long as that pencil-necked dickhead is left in charge, ya better believe I ain’t steppin’ foot back in Westchester.”

Remy looked down at Logan, brows raised. “What if an emergency come up?”

Without hesitating, Logan lifted one broad shoulder and answered, “Then I’ll be there. Don’t get me wrong, Cajun, this shit hurts like hell, and pisses me off. But I realize the Bigger Picture. Ya’ll can count on me to do my job. You know where I’ll be…Just gimme a call an’ I’ll”“

“Yo, what up homes?”

Remy stopped abruptly slightly behind Logan, who only seemed to be smiling. Evidently he hadn’t been as surprised as he let on. “Ye been tailin’ us for 3 blocks, kid. Really sloppy-like, I might add. I think you wanna keep goin.”

The young thug sneered, whipping a butterfly knife from his back pocket. He seemed an especially brazen young fool, to take on 2 adult men, but evidently had assumed Remy’s slightly drunk swagger would give him an advantage. “Whatever, Pops. Hand everything over. All of it.”

Remy cocked his head, evaluating the thug. “You kiddin, right boy?”

“’Boy’?? Dude, ya see the blade? Now hand it over.” The young punk switched his gaze from one to the other alternately, trying to appear as menacing as possible.

Logan halted for half a second, and with a quick sniff determined they weren’t alone…again. He searched his memory for the oddly familiar scent, puzzled. It was so fresh but distant to his mind…As his heart rate increased and the hackles on his neck rose, he knew.

“Hey, I said hand it over, dammit”“ As the punk attempted to lunge at them, a shadow passed underneath the streetlamp above them, then the young punk was screaming like a little girl as he fought against the vice-like grip on his neck.

“Shit!” Gambit jumped back instinctively as the figure had jumped down to land on the boy. As She rose with the thug in a compromised grip that threatened to rend his head from the shoulders, the 2 men got a look at their ‘savior’.

“You…” Logan barely breathed the word as he met her Blue gaze.

There was something different about her this time, and it wasn’t just the all-over black leather jumpsuit she was wearing. The cool blue irises of her eyes were slit like that of a feline. She gave the same grin she’d given him in the club as Miss Munroe deftly disarmed the young thug.

“Shit, Lady lemme go! Please, ah”ahh! Wait”“, he pleaded, struggling as she tightened her grip on his neck.

Her intent clear, Logan held out a hand to stay her. “Waitaminute, Lady. The kid’s scared shitless as it is. He’s learned his lesson.”

With a very cold look, She met Logan’s eye. For a split second she eased the vice-grip”before twisting the perp’s neck with a satisfying crunch.

Shocked, Remy and Logan watched as the kid’s limp body crumpled to the concrete sidewalk. Without so much as a word, the woman crouched low, then took flight, as a flash of distant lightning and the roll of thunder rattled off in the distance.

“Hey--! Stop!” Remy’s hand immediately dug into his jacket for a card to charge.

Logan looked up to the night sky, and blinked rapidly as she appeared to have completely vanished. There wasn’t even a trace of her scent left in the air.

“Mon blieu..! What was she??” Remy turned to Logan.

“She’s a mutant.” The Wolverine answered simply. Although he secretly suspected this woman was much more than that…


A couple miles away…
Her heart beating triple-time, Munroe rested atop one of the high apartment buildings, willing her pulse to slow.

‘Calm down, Ororo…breathe…’ She closed her eyes several times, breathing deeply. She’d been so close that time. She’d almost Taken that one. It was getting harder to control the urges to feed again. It had been so long since the last time, everyone she came into contact with was a potential mark.

That kid though, Darrell Jenkins”he deserved what he’d just gotten. She wasn’t sorry in the least for what she’d done. That man didn’t understand. He wasn’t from around these parts, he and his Platinum card-wielding buddy. She recognized who they were, just as Forge had. She respected the work they and their People did on a global basis, but what about the problems at home? While the likes of the X-men were out saving the universe, no one was watching the streets.

Finally, she was able to calm her thoughts and the feeling in her stomach. She’d gained so much ground in the past several months, she couldn’t give it up now.

Perched on the building ledge, Ororo drew a still-shaking hand up to her face. She wiped the cold sweat away from her brow, as her eyes reclaimed their normal appearance. She opened her mouth, grinning to feel the sharp canines on either side that protruded more than they should have. They throbbed with ill use, but then began to shrink back to a normal size. Good. ‘I can control it. I can control this…’

She gathered herself together, running a hand through her wild white hair. With a shutter, she recalled the way they’d looked at her, as she took the thug’s life. It shouldn’t have mattered, but there was also something in that Man’s eyes, the short one, that bore into her. How presumptuous to look at her as though he knew anything about her!

Ororo pushed all thoughts of the man and his young friend away as she rose once more and took flight into the early morning sky.

---

Several hours later, around noon…
Reclining in the wide sill of the window facing the street, Logan stared out at the busy world below, only slightly aware of what went on. With his knees drawn up slightly, he rested his muscular arms on the caps, one hand loosely grasping the neck of a beer bottle he’d hardly touched since popping it open a few hours ago.

His sharp grey eyes barely held a tinge of red from the previous night’s outing, staring fixedly at the lamppost down the street. He wasn’t really interested at all in it, but it reminded him of Her.

The first time Logan had laid eyes on Miss Munroe, he’d known then and there that something was slightly off about the woman. With no room for comparison, however, he couldn’t put his finger on it. When she’d shown up in Hell’s Kitchen, not five blocks from this apartment, and jumped the kid trying to jack them, all his reservations were gone. He’d seen that feral, hungry look before in someone’s eyes. With little humor, he conceded that she probably did the kid a favor snapping his neck, as opposed to the probable alternative. If he was right about her, then she needed to be stopped before anyone else”anyone innocent”was hurt.

‘Wonder why She let us alone?’ he thought suddenly, remembering the bottle and suddenly bringing it to his lips for a swig. Witnesses probably didn’t survive long after seeing something like that. Wasn’t she afraid of blowing her cover? ‘Who’d believe me anyway? Mutant, okay. Vampire?? Cops prob’ly won’t go fer that…’

Logan sighs, rubbing his eyes, which began to hurt, reminding him he still needed to blink on occasion . ‘I’ll just have to do some investigation on my own, then…’

“Ohhh…God, have mercy…” The painful groan came from behind him, bringing a small smile to Logan’s lips as he tried not to laugh.

Behind him on one of the 2 couches in the tiny living room, Remy lay spread-eagle with at least one limb hanging on the floor. The plastic-lined waste basket parallel to his head was a thoughtful act of his drinking buddy, who wasn’t about to play ‘orderly’ if the Cajun’s gut acted up in the middle of the night.

Slowly rolling onto his side, then stomach”groaning”then back to his side, Gambit carefully opened his eyes, blinking several times as the room began to spin.

“I wouldn’t advise tryin’ t’get up right away, kid.” Logan didn’t turn from the window, adding, “I picked up some coffee a little while ago, tho’. I can getcha some o’that, if ya think you can handle it.”

A groan that sounded in the affirmative prompted Logan off the sill, resting the beer bottle where he’d previously been sitting. As he drew a mug from the cabinet, Remy groaned again at the unusually loud sound of porcelain clanging against glass.

While the pot brewed, Logan dug through the small grocery sack on the table, and cracked open a fresh bottle of aspirin. Meanwhile, Remy rolled off the couch, literally crawling to the bathroom. By the time he re-emerged, looking a little less green, Logan was perched on the arm of the couch with black coffee and 2 aspirin in hand.

“Mercì.” LeBeau mumbled as he tossed back the pills and reached for the ‘I ♥ NY’ mug.

Logan let him take a couple sips before he asked, “How much about last night do you remember?”

After several moments of deep thought, it was apparent: Not Much. Swallowing hard, Remy laid back against the opposite arm of the couch.

"Uh…hm…sheesh…Gambit at a loss, mon ami. We went to de bar down de street…’nother across town…Remy think there was another one, but”“

“You don’t remember The Xile?” Logan interrupted, leaning close.

“De Xile…” Remy’s eyes narrowed in concentration.

“That mutants-only joint downtown..? The Hulk-size bouncers, the Suit outside with ‘em, the”“

“De Owner. Remy remember Her.”

“Yeah…” Logan was quiet for a minute. Remy grinned mischievously, misunderstanding his intent.

“You interested in seein’ de petit again, eh?” He managed a slight wolfish smile.

Logan snorted. “You obviously don’t remember everythin’. The kid that tried to mug us? ‘Member what she did to him??”

“Oh…yea.”

“If that’s how she treats men, I think I’ll pass on that. But I’m curious about her anyway.”

Remy watched him closely. “Why? Dis woman sound kinda dangerous, no?”

“Cajun, ev’ry woman is. But that’s not it. This one’s different. She owns a hot-spot in the heart of downtown New York that’s exclusively for mutants, but then spends her early mornin’s twistin’ the necks o’muggers? And did ya catch a glimpse of’er face”the eyes, I mean? They were weird-lookin’ for a human or mutant, and we both know that’s sayin’ a lot. There’s more to this one than you think.”

“And o’ course, you’re gonne find out what, eh?”

“Damn straight. I got some questions I know she’s got the answers to. That was a crime we witnessed last night, kid. No two ways about it. Miss Munroe won’t want her loyal patrons to find out what she’s really up to at night. Hell, any one of those suckers steps foot in the place could be next fer all I know.”

“What’re you gonne do?”

“I’m gonna go back to where this all started. The Xile.”



To Be Continued.





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