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Six hours later, Xavier Safehouse # 42…

Although the cabin bustled with activity as the teens busied themselves picking rooms to bunk in, the mood was still somewhat subdued. Ororo was presently checking the cabin’s security panels, ensuring herself that nothing had been tampered with or compromised in their absence.

“Ro, if this place gets any more secure, even we won’t be able to get in,” Jean’s soft voice sounded from just over her right shoulder.

Even the interruption could not stop her task, and she continued as if Jean had not spoken.

Jean let out a short sigh, resting her weight on her right foot as she slowly crossed her arms underneath her bosom. “So…this is what you plan to do? Keep yourself busy instead of talking about it?”

Ororo never halted her ministrations, but she answered Jean in an uninterested tone. “There is nothing that merits discussion, Jean.”

Jean closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She had been at it for nearly two hours, attempting to pull Ororo from her constant tasks of checking the various systems around the cabin. Just when she thought she was making a breakthrough, Ororo would leave the room in search of more work to do. Enough was enough.

“Ro. Stop. Talk to me. Please.”

Initially, she was sure her friend would continue to ignore her. Then she saw the barely detectable lowering of her shoulders and stilling of her hands.

Good, she’s finally letting down her guard.

Ororo breathed steadily, here eyes never leaving the console before her, she couldn’t bring herself to turn around just yet.

“He would have killed them, you know.”

Jean released a breath she hadn’t known she was holding, not expecting the conversation to begin here. She found her own voice was small when she did answer.

“I know.”

“He would have killed them. And, for what? For me?” Ororo shook her head slightly, unable to go any further into that thought. She actually shuddered at the thought of what could have been.


Four hours earlier, Merle’s roadside café/gas station…

“There you two are. Thought you’d gotten lost between the gas pumps and the front door,” Scott joked when Ororo and Logan entered the restaurant. It appeared they were the last remaining customers before closing.

“Yeah, Mr. Summers had to ask the waitress to re-submit your orders like, three times cuz you weren’t here when she brought them out,” Jubilee offered from her position at the end of the table.

“Our apologies, it appears the gas tanks were…[ahem] larger than we anticipated,” Ororo answered, a small smile shining as she gave Logan a sideways glance.

Logan cleared his throat roughly, “Yeah, bigger’n we thought. Scoot down, rugrats.”

Peter and Kitty obeyed, making room on their side of the bench. Logan surprised them all when he gestured for Ororo to take the empty seat, going so far as to place his hand on the small of her back to guide her.

Bobby risked a glance to Remy and Peter, a knowing gleam in his eye. Kitty and the rest of the girls silently “ooh-ed” and “ahh-ed”, then gave their respective beaus each a sharp elbow in the side. Logan gave a small knowing chuckle, having watched the exchange.

“Ya gonna move, Gumbo, or are ya gonna make me move ya?”

“Non, frère, no need for the violence. I am a lover, after all. Ain’t dat right, chere?” Remy answered in that lazy Cajun drawl of his, giving Marie a look so hot it warmed her cheeks.

Logan’s brow nearly touched his hairline as he gave Marie a questioning look. She suddenly found her salad immensely interesting. Narrowing his eyes as he sat next to Remy on the bench, he spoke low enough for the boy to hear,

“Keep yer damn lovin’ in yer pants, Cajun, ‘fore I misplace it for ya. That goes for all you so-called loverboys.” He cracked the knuckles on his right hand for emphasis as he eyed Pete and Bobby, as well.

Remy’s devil-red eyes widened a degree and his face lost the alluring olive complexion it normally held; Bobby and Peter followed suit. They each gave Logan a small nod as Remy gulped loudly.

“Logan. No scaring the children, remember?” Ororo lightly reprimanded him.

Logan gave Remy one last hard look before sharing the same with the other two boys at the table, then he surprised the threesome by giving them a slow wolf-like grin.

“Sorry, ‘Ro” he said, although his eyes never left the teens.

Jean chuckled from behind her napkin while Scott gave Logan a look of disapproval.

“Logan, why do you always have to threaten them?”

Stealing a fry from Scott’s plate, Logan said, “Eh, if I don’ give ’em a hard time, who will, Scooter? You?”

Any further debate was cut off by the arrival of the waitress, her presence announced shortly before her arrival by the smell of cigarette smoke and grease.

“Here’s your food fo”lks” she stammered as she caught sight of Ororo at the table. She was able to regain her composure fairly quickly and turned on her heels after delivering the orders.

The incident went on unnoticed by all the teens, although the adults absorbed every detail. Logan threw Ororo a questioning glance and she responded by shrugging her shoulders. Jean and Scott shared the same exchange before settling back in to enjoy their meal. Logan had gotten two bites into his extra rare burger before his eyes found Ororo’s across the table. She gave a small smile as she continued eating her veggie sandwich. Logan would swear to this day that no woman could ever look as sexy as ‘Ro did while eating a sandwich. Momentarily forgetting where he was, Logan licked his canines in appreciation. Just as he thought about reaching across the table to feel if her lips were as soft as they looked, his hearing picked up a hushed conversation from somewhere inside the restaurant.

“…yeah, …out there….colored…with the group …” the voice he recognized as belonging to their startled waitress.

Once Logan’s ears located the direction the noise came from, he steadied his breathing in an effort to decipher what was being said.

“A colored? In here? You’re sure?” The voice was definitely male.

“You think I don’t know a colored when I spot one, Darryl?!”

“She alone?”

An exasperated sigh, “Do you listen? I just said she was with group of folks out there. You forget to clean that wax outta your ears?”

“Is she at least pretty?”

“Prettiest woman”colored or not”I ever seen.”

“Hmmm. Go round back and get the boys. Tell ’em we got a real sweet treat and to bring their bats.”

“Y’all gonna beat up those nice white folks, too?”

“Naw, woman. Just scare ’em. Then we’ll take the woman ‘round back for a lil’ fun.”

“Oh, you mean like that last one we got? She was a looker, too.”

“Yeah, but she wouldn’t scream for nothing. Damn near had to choke the life outta her to get a sound.”

Logan pulled out of the conversation, his hackles immediately up. Ororo could literally feel the change in him, her eyes searching his form for some indication of what was wrong. Although she only used her extra senses when manipulating the weather or in battle, Ororo could read Logan’s energy patterns. She was immediately disturbed by how erratic they were.

“Let’s go. Now.” Logan all but growled the command.

Jean, Ororo, and Scott immediately responded, gathering their things. Marie, Remy, Peter, Kitty, Alison, and Jubilee followed suit. It was Bobby who remained blissfully unaware of the tension in their friend.

“Leave? Man, this grub was just getting good. I mean, I’ve never eaten grits before, so-“

“Robert. When Mr. Logan says move, you move.”

Ororo’s harsh tone caught him off-guard and when he looked up, he was met with her eyes, as hard and unforgiving as a tsunami bearing down on the shore. He was out of his seat in seconds. Logan brought up the rear of the group as they exited the restaurant.
Jean had no idea what the threat was, but she had entered battle mode. She calculated the distance to the trucks and how to get the teens in without much incident. Scott’s eyes roamed the area from beneath his ruby shades. Ororo kept inventory of the teens as they walked briskly. They were a mere fifteen feet from their vehicles when intercepted by four individuals with various assortments of woodwork”baseball bats, four-by fours, kendo sticks.

“Well, why the rush, folks? You didn’t even get a chance to taste the house special.” Logan recognized the voice as Danny from the previous conversation inside the restaurant.

Logan pushed his way to the front of their group. “Walk away now, boys, while you still can.” His voice was low and extremely threatening.

One of the men chuckled, twirling his kendo sticks as he spoke, “Heh. The runt is giving us orders, Danny. Whatcha say ‘bout that?”

“Now, you gentlemen seem highly reasonable. What’s this all about?” Scott attempted to stall. He really hated fighting unsuspecting humans. It just wasn’t fair.

“You folks just can’t leave without a proper ‘goodbye.’ It shows poor manners. Ain’t that right, Dan?”

“Damn right. My daddy built this place on love, respect, and good old-fashioned southern manners. He may have relocated the family all the way up here from Dixie, but he never lost his manners. A man ain’t nothing without his manners” he turned a curious gaze to the bunch before him. His eyes widened as they found his target. “Damn, Sheryl didn’t tell me you was that pretty.”

The other three men followed his line of vision and their eyes all widened in surprise. One of the men whistled in appreciation.

“Damn.”

Logan visibly tensed and a low growl began to build in his chest. His fists clenched so hard that his knuckles turned white.

Ororo finally began to get some idea of what was unfolding before them. She placed herself beside Logan, Jean, and Scott, placing the teens safely behind their line of defense.

“Gentlemen, we thank you for your hospitality, but we wish to be on our way now.”

“Damn, she even talks pretty, boys. Your friends are welcome to go. In fact, we encourage them the leave. We just want to talk to you, girl. All by yourself.” Danny raked a predatory glance over her whole body.

Ororo straightened her spine and stood at her full height, chin raised. She leveled him with a stern gaze before speaking.

“I can assure you, sir, that I do not wish to entertain any thoughts you may be having. And please, don’t call me ‘girl’.” Ororo breathed slowly in an effort to rein in her ire, her body humming with energy.

Danny’s expression went from lustful to angry in a heartbeat.

“And where my daddy’s from, your kind don’t talk back.” He took a menacing step closer.

Logan could feel the Wolverine shredding away his last threads of control. No, not like this. Not in front of the kids.

“‘Your kind’? Does he mean cuz she’s a mutant?” Bobby whispered to his friends. Unfortunately, his question was also heard by their aggressors.

“Mutant?” The word rolled off the fourth man’s tongue as if it was poison. “You sure you still wanna do this, Danny?”

Danny’s eyes had taken on a different quality; one might even say they were wild. He gave a short laugh before focusing his attention back on Ororo.

“Even better. I’ve stolen nigger-pussy, but I ain’t never had it from a mutant nigger.” The man licked his lips as if anticipating a meal.

Ororo could hear the gasps of the teens behind her at the lewd statement. They were finally all up to speed on the gravity of their current predicament. She could feel herself vibrate as she fought for control. She never thought she’d have to face such indignities at this stage in her life.

Jean took Ororo’s hand in her own, giving it a light squeeze. One of the men noticed and raised a brow in interest.

“Hey, Dan. You think we could get them two to kiss a little before we have our fun. You know I like to watch.”

“No way, I like my meat fresh.” He took two more steps and closed the distance between himself and Ororo. He gave her another slow once-over.

“And what makes you so special, girl? Something ‘bout them blue eyes?”

Ororo did not flinch, even as she could feel the heat rolling off his breath. “Trust me, you do not want to find out.”

Taking a strand of her snow-colored hair between his fingers and sniffing, he rumbled, “Oh, I think I do, girl. All night long.”

Fuck this, Logan thought as he took one step closer to the pair before him.

“Sirs, please. Do not do as you’re thinking. We have young ones with us.” Ororo tried one last time to reason with the men.

Danny turned his head toward his comrades, a sick smile on his face, “What’d I tell you, boys? These northern niggers love to talk back.”

The next few seconds all happened in a blur. One moment, Danny was turning back to Ororo, his hand raised to deliver a blow. The next, the Wolverine sprang into action, taking down Danny in a matter of seconds. The Wolverine was out in full effect, Logan sneered at the man on the ground below him with golden eyes and extended incisors, his hand like a vice on his throat. Ororo could see the fear in the man’s eyes from her vantage point. The rest of his friends made the mistake of approaching, weapons raised. Wolverine sprung into action without hesitation, using his body to bowl all three men over at once.

“Logan. Logan, you have to calm down. Logan!”

Her pleas were useless as Logan continued his assault on the men, punching and ramming heads into various hard surfaces. The only consolation to Jean, Ororo, and Scott was that the claws had not come out”yet. However, they could see that the attacks were becoming more brutal and had to step in before the Wolverine did something Logan would regret. Scott approached to intervene but was met with a glare so malevolent that it stopped him in his tracks. Soon, Wolverine’s hands were bloodied from the vicious beatings he was delivering. Ororo knew they could not approach him in this state and she gave Jean’s hand a meaningful squeeze. Jean’s hand flew to her temple and she gave a nod. Ororo’s eyes clouded over white in record time as she activated her mutation, calling down gale force winds and effectively tossing Logan from his position perched atop the group of men. He hit the ground with considerable force and sprung up immediately with the goal to continue his assault. All of the sudden, he stopped in his tracks as if he had hit a brick wall. Jean showed no strain as she threw the psi-wall between Logan and his victims. His snarls and growls could be heard as loudly as a lion’s roar. Ororo directed the brunt of her storm in Logan’s direction, miraculously affecting no one else in their small area. Scott motioned for the young men in their group to assist in gathering the bruised and battered men left behind by the Wolverine. Bobby, Remy, and Peter wasted no time in assisting their leader. They deposited the beaten group inside the restaurant, much to the shock of their previous waitress.
Scott gave her a hard look, “Did you know this was going to happen?” His voice was cold and hard as tungsten.

“I-I-I…..they do this all the time. W-w-we didn’t know she was a mutant,” she stammered.

Fighting to control his breathing, Scott motioned to the men on the floor, “We didn’t want this. We never wanted this.”

The waitress remained glued in her spot as she watched the four men walk out of the restaurant and into what appeared to be a tornado right outside the doors.

Back to present…

Although Ororo had yet to turn around, Jean knew Ororo was reliving the day’s events in her mind. Jean didn’t need to use her telepathic powers to decipher the atmosphere in Ororo’s mind, nor Logan’s “ even though his whereabouts were still unknown. The pair projected their stress and tension so loudly it nearly overwhelmed her. In fact, Jean had to take several steps back to put distance between Ororo and herself.

“Ro”“

“No, Jean. He would have killed those men if we had not stopped him. And for what? To defend my precious pride?”

Ororo shook her head as she remembered the nearly hour-long ordeal to calm Logan down. Although, she was quite sure he still wasn’t calm. She swore she could feel his emotions as if they were her own.

“Ororo.” Jean was suddenly unsure of how to proceed. For one thing, Ororo did have a point. Had they not stopped Logan, he certainly would have killed Danny and his men. As it stood now, the men were only a little worse for wear and terrified. She expelled a breath she hadn’t even known she was holding. “Yes, he would have killed them, but not just for you. He would have killed them for every ugly, disgusting thought they had or act they may have done. Although the outcome was not what we would have hoped, those men meant you harm, ‘Ro. And what was to keep them from harming Marie, or Alison, or Jubilee? You know more than any of us the cost of war.”

“Jean, we were not battling any of Magneto’s men out there. That was not war, those were humans”“

“Human, mutant, or robot”we face prejudice of all types, and we exist to protect those who hate us. But there are times where we have no choice but to defend ourselves. Now, stop blaming yourself for Logan’s actions. I’m sure he feels a hundred times worse because he feels like he let you down.”

That worked in getting Ororo to turn around abruptly. “What did you say?” Her snow-capped brow nearly touched her hairline.

Jean looked her square in the eye, then, “Don’t act all dense on me, ‘Ro. You know Logan thinks he blew his chance to be with you because of his temper.”

“Jean, Logan knows I am fully aware of the beast he keeps at bay. We have fought together in battle countless times.”

“Fought as teammates, comrades. Never as a man defending his woman and going overboard. Ororo, Logan battles hourly to rein in the Wolverine. Just like you have to do in order to keep your emotions in control. And he also spends those hours with you and draws comfort from your steady calm. So, not only did he lose it today, but he lost it in front of you.”

Ororo sat silently as she considered this new information and thought back to the remainder of their drive to the cabin. Logan had grown quiet and withdrawn and headed for the woods as soon as they unloaded their cars. That was three hours ago. It was as if he couldn’t get away from her fast enough. She looked her friend in the eye and gave a small nod before heading towards her room on the top level of the cabin.

“Where you headed?”

“I figure I should reclaim my inner peace before I can tell Logan how to find his.”

Jean gave a knowing nod as she watched Ororo ascend the stairs.

Go. Get your man, ‘Ro, she thought to her herself.





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