Sometime later…
The next few weeks passed without much incident, and Ororo herself began to wonder if this mission would ever come to an end. Maybe Scott was right all along, and they had missed their opportunity. That maybe she had overestimated her desirability in attempting to entice their target.
Talk about a blow to the ego, thanks for planting the seeds, Scott, she thought dryly.
It appeared the only good thing to result thus far was her ever-growing friendship with Logan. Since that fateful day when she finally decided to acknowledge his presence and invite him in, Logan had entered her loft in the same manner everyday thereafter. They would sit and talk for hours about everything and nothing, they had come to learn things about each other that were shared with no others. Ororo was still somewhat intrigued by her and Logan’s easy friendship, to say it was unexpected would be an understatement. They had even begun to meditate together on her off days”which would happen to be what they were currently doing on the rooftop of her loft building.
“Yer’ not focusing, ‘Ro,” Logan’s deep timbre interrupted her thoughts.
She peeked at him from one opened eye, amazed to find his face a mask of perfect serenity as he continued his own meditation. Her eyebrow nearly touched her hairline as she wondered how he could tell her concentration had shifted.
He spoke without opening his eyes, “Yer breathing pattern changed. That means ya lost yer focus.”
Feeling somewhat put off that Logan seemed to have come to know her so well in a short period of time, Ororo stuck her tongue out at Logan.
“Back atcha’, darlin’.”
How did he know”his eyes are still closed?!
This time he did open one eye in the same fashion as she did, “Enhanced hearing, remember? I can hear changes in yer breathing and heard yer lips smack when ya stuck yer tongue out.”
She slowly nodded her head in understanding, feeling somewhat sheepish now.
“So, wanna tell me what’s got yer concentration all screwed up?”
“This mission. It feels as if we are just spinning our wheels with no end in sight. Maybe Scott was right when-”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa…whoa,” Logan interrupted, complete with wildly gesturing hands and a ‘wtf’ expression on his face. “ ‘Ro, I admit things are movin’ slower than expected, but don’t ever, ever, ever say Scooter was right about anything. Anything.” He followed this with a truly comedic shudder.
Ororo smiled at his actions, “Logan.”
“I’m just sayin’, ‘Ro, things are progressin’, we just gotta be patient.”
Ororo’s face became serious once again as she rose from her lotus position and moved to sit on the building’s ledge. Logan heard her mumbled “Easier said than done.”
He soon joined her on the edge, handing her a bottled water. “Wanna tell me what that’s about, darlin’?”
He patiently waited as he knew she would answer when ready. One thing he had learned about Ororo was that, while she had a quick wit and could think on her feet, there were times when she would prefer to fortify herself before answering. When she spoke, her eyes were focused on the horizon before them.
“Logan, do you remember your initial reaction to my appearance when we first met?”
He smiled slowly to himself. “Hell yeah, I remember. I was ready to bolt from Chuck’s office when you and ol’ One Eye strolled in. I remember you carrying yerself like a Queen. Yer smooth brown skin and white locks caught my attention the second ya walked in.” Truthfully, though he wouldn’t admit it, she had him entranced ever since.
Ororo nodded slowly. “And do you remember your shock at seeing my true eye color?”
“…yeah?” Where the hell is she going with this? he thought.
“Now imagine garnering that response from the time you were a child. Imagine the confusion that you would feel if people chose to not only stare at your appearance, but also decided to use it to their advantage…” Logan could hear the edge her voice had taken. She inhaled a shaky breath. “People who would have you believe they had your best interests at heart...” she trailed off.
His hackles rising, Logan ground his teeth, “‘Ro, did somebody…” he couldn’t even bring himself to finish.
“Rape me? No, thank the Goddess. But there were times where it came very close to that. No, I was …unfortunate enough to be taken under the wing of Sheik Al Harij Jaffar in the southern region of Madagascar. A suave man, but devious, no less. He thought my exotic looks would be best employed to seduce other rich men in the region and hopefully catch them in...compromising positions so that he could rob them of all their riches. I was merely the bait to draw them into his harem. Jaffar never allowed me to stay long, he said they deserved what befell them, for they held unsavory thoughts about what they wanted to do with me….”
His breathing having increased, Logan reflexively clenched and unclenched his fists. He would wait, let her tell her story when she was ready.
“He would always tell me I was to be his ‘Queen of the Nile’ when I was of age, that he would allow no man to soil me before then,” she swallowed thickly. “That was when I believe my mutation must have unlocked itself. I had reached the age of eleven and I had just survived a close encounter with one of the men, and I was so very angry that he would dare touch me in such a way. No one had ever seen such a torrential downpour as had hit the area. I cried all night and by morning, the surrounding twenty mile radius had been…eradicated by monsoon. Of course, I still had no idea that it was I who caused such damage. All I knew is I would be free from Jaffar. Shortly thereafter, I fled to my mother’s village in Cairo and sought refuge with her family. They took me in, of course, as they recognized the traits of my mother’s lineage. Apparently, I inherited my great-great-grandmother’s physical features and subsequently her position as the reigning deity of the land.”
Logan knew she had no intention of continuing as she instead continued to gaze at the setting sun before them.
“Damn, yer history is almost as colorful as mine. Who’d’a thunk I’d be sittin’ here with a real, live Goddess,” he finally replied. Then, after a long beat of silence, a thought occurred to Logan.
“Dammit, ‘Ro, why didn’t ya say something before about this? God knows we coulda found a different approach to this whole damn mission!” He was angry, he realized. Neither himself, Scott, nor Jean had considered why Ororo was so opposed to her particular status in the mission. They’d all assumed she opposed so strongly because she was used to being revered as a goddess.
Flamin’ idiots, all of us, Logan chided himself.
“It is not something I feel appropriate to discuss over tea, Logan. Bad things happen. You live through it, learn, and come out stronger. Besides, what other tactic would we have employed for this mission, send one of the girls in? Jubilation Lee, Allison….Marie?”
Logan breathed in sharply at that. She had him there, no doubt. He suddenly found his feet incredibly interesting, he couldn’t even bring himself to meet her eyes. His shoulders slumped as he continued to mentally berate himself for once again putting her in a similar situation.
“I dunno, ‘Ro. I wouldn’t’a pushed so hard. It ain’t right that we put you right back in that same place,” he replied weakly. He literally felt sick to his stomach.
“Logan, it’s all right. Besides, I am an X-Man; we don’t back down from challenges just because they are uncomfortable. We have a duty to protect, and I always honor my duties,” she said, her voice having regained its usual regal strength. Logan glanced at Ororo from the corner of his eye; she held her head high as she spoke of her obligations as an X-Man.
Amazing. Truly amazing. Logan felt his respect for Ororo Munroe grow exponentially. Never had he met another person”man or woman”with as much inner strength as this thing of beauty beside him.
“And I also feel a personal obligation to those females victimized by this man to bring him down.” There it was. There was that spark of determination in her eyes. This was the ‘Ro he knew”strong, proud, regal.
“Damn right, Darlin’….and I’m looking forward to introducing this fucker to his intestines.”
She chuckled; then “Logan. Language.”
The next night…..
“….and now, Gents, we’ll take a small break-if you will- to allow you guys to calm your breathing. Wasn’t Miss Behavin’ wonderful?” the emcee prodded the crowd. Logan gave the club a quick scan. He still couldn’t believe how many guys had packed themselves in to the club”presumably all here to see the club’s main attraction”Dream. For some reason, the more he thought about it, the more Logan wanted to go feral and gut everyone in the club. Somehow, over the course of the last few months, Logan had grown to appreciate his friendship with Ororo. It startled him to no end that he had grown so protective of Ororo. Ororo”he’d learned from Chuck a while back that her name meant Beauty, and he couldn’t think of a more appropriate name for her. The woman had an inner beauty so damn astonishing that it actually outshone her outer beauty, a feat he once thought impossible.
Even more startling to him was the profound respect and admiration for her that seemed to grow at an exponential level on an almost daily basis. Logan would never have guessed that Ororo”super-cultured, refined, and eternally graceful”was a former master thief and street urchin. She’d dropped that little bit of information on him over a week ago and he still hadn’t fully processed it yet. It seemed her past truly was as colorful and complicated as his own. To know that she hadn’t had the easiest of upbringings and still had a heart of gold astounded him. Hell, even when forced to face her own demons on this assignment, she took it with poise and professionalism. Sometimes Logan believed Ororo had more conviction and faith in Xavier’s dream than the man himself did. Logan was pulled from his momentary reverie by the emcee’s suddenly annoying voice.
“…And now…what you’ve all been waiting for…what you’ve all heard about and dared to believe is true…the one, the only…Dream!!!!!!!!”
As the bass line of the song began its sensual ascension, Logan made sure to focus all his attention on the stage. He couldn’t explain it, but he had a feeling Ororo would need to see his eyes when she came onstage and saw the packed club. As usual, Logan’s seat at the bar was within direct eye range of the stage.
Hm, never heard this song before. I kinda like it, Logan mused as he saw the stage curtain rise to reveal Ororo atop a bed. Already, he could feel a tightening in his pants and shifted to relieve some of the pressure. Ororo slowly lowered the bed sheet as she rose to an extremely provocative kneeling position. Logan expelled a low whistle as he took in her wardrobe. Sure, he’d seen her in white, light blue, even pink, but he’d never seen her in all-black. Of course, her uniform was black leather, but this…this ensemble was breathtaking. Ororo wore an all black leather bustier with black leggings and high-heeled boots that reached her knees. Logan’s jaw literally dropped as Ororo made eye contact with him. Of course, she did this every night, but tonight she had a completely different look in her eyes. In her eyes, Logan could see unbridled lust as she rose and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
Many say
That I'm too young
To let you know just where I'm coming from.
But you will see
It's just a matter of time
My love will surely make you mine
As was always the case, the club had grown deathly silent, save the sensual tones on En Vogue’s rendition of the ever-sexy “Something He Can Feel”.
Well, I’m
Livin' in a world of ghetto life
Everyone is so uptight
Nothin's wrong, it's alright, my man
I like the way we carry on
His love will send me on and on
With my man
People out there can understand
I'm givin him somethin’ he can feel
To let him know this love is real
This love is real
By this point, Ororo had made her way to the foot of the bed and sat wide-legged as she began to sway suggestively, never breaking eye contact with Logan. She bent over ever-so-slowly to unzip and then remove her right boot, followed by the left. Both shoes wound up somewhere in the sea of men.
I'm givin him somethin’ he can feel
To let him know this love is real
This love is real(2x)
So much joy for us it seems
So much hope for material things
Are they only in my dreams?
(hey, oh yeah)
And that's exactly why I'm singing this song to you
To let you know that real dreams do come true.
You tell me 'what does it mean'.
The chorus repeated twice more as Ororo continued to perform what had to be the sexiest, most sensual strip tease ever known to man. By the time the song had begun to wane, Ororo was left standing in only a pair of black boy shorts and a barely there black bra, her clothing having been thrown to the various corners of the club as keepsakes for those lucky enough to catch them. Her hair cascaded down to cover some of her bosom as she ran her hands up and down her body suggestively to the fading tunes of the song. Logan swallowed thickly and couldn’t help when his hand drifted to rest in his lap. He had to have some type of contact. Logan fought the urge to howl as Ororo turned and seductively crawled back up the bed before returning to her initial position beneath the sheets. The stage curtains had been dropped a full minute before anyone in the club regained their ability to think, it seemed. The thunderous applause erupted, violently tearing Logan’s attention from the stage back to his surroundings. He was simultaneously assaulted with the scents of lust and desire from every male in the club. Logan could feel the coppery taste rising in his throat, signaling the awakening of the Wolverine.
“Logan. Backstage. Now!”
Scooter?What tha hell….
*Logan. No time for questions. Move now, something’s going down,* Jean responded in his head.
In a matter of seconds, Logan had maneuvered his way through the throng of men and found himself at the entrance to the back hallways. He immediately smelled the signs of and heard the sounds of a fight, and his eyes began to change from their usual steel gray to amber hue. As he approached the hallway that held Ororo’s room, Logan relaxed to a degree when he saw that John and Adam had pinned four guys to the floor while Scott was holding another three at bay with his glowing visor. Logan let a growl loose from his chest and was delighted to see the color drain from the faces of all of the would-be suitors.
Damn pricks.
The Wolverine was kept at bay”at least for the moment. Logan could faintly smell the stench of fresh urine over his bloodlust. He gave a dangerous grin as he realized he’d literally “scared the piss out of ‘em”. He stalked toward the men methodically.
“Uh, guys, I trust the two of you can handle this?” Scott offered quickly, sensing the need to corral Logan before things got messy. Real messy.
Adam, seemingly hearing the panic in Scott’s voice, looked up to see Logan approaching and nodded quickly, “Either you guys come with us, or you deal with that dude.” He indicated Logan with a nod of his head.
“Y-y-y-y-y-you!” they all but screamed in unison.
“Then I suggest you run and follow these two security guards to the back door and make it fast,” Scott instructed.
The seven men followed quickly and without a word. Scott did not approach Logan, not in this state. He simply remained still and spoke in a calming voice.
“Logan, they’re gone. They’re gone. The threat is over…..” Logan made no indication that he’d heard. He stood poised to pounce, his fist slowly clenching and staring at the retreating back of the last man.
“Logan.::sigh:: Logan, can you hear me?”
“Scott, perhaps I should handle this,” Scott was surprised by Ororo’s voice and the touch of her hand on his shoulder. He expected her to meet his eyes when he turned around, but it appeared her focus was entirely on the feral mutant before them. The completely homicidal, unpredictable feral in front of them.
“Ororo, I’d feel much better if I were with you. Just in case”“
“Scott, as I stated, I can handle this. Logan won’t hurt me. Will you, Logan?” she continued to keep her gaze locked on the feral man. The only response heard was a low growl from Logan.
“I will be fine, Scott. We will meet you out back in a few moments. Tell Jean to prep the Blackbird, please.” Her voice brooked no argument, so Scott reluctantly found his way to the back door.
He stopped before exiting, “You’ve got five minutes before we come back in, got it?”
Ororo indicated her hearing with a slow nodding of her head. After Scott left the area, she kept her gaze level with Logan’s and slowly approached him.
She stopped when she had come within three to four feet of him. Striking distance. Logan only responded with yet another low growl. The Wolverine had complete control now, awakened by the perceived threat of Ororo. His vision clouded by red, Wolverine was surprised to feel a warm, gentle breeze envelop him. He scented the air. Sandalwood, Rain. Vanilla. Calm. His body automatically began to relax. Ororo could see the amber hue slowly seep from Logan’s eyes as she slightly increased the wind gusts around her. She knew the key to reaching the Wolverine was to engage his senses; if he could tell that she was calm, unharmed, and not a threat to him, it would relax him enough to allow Logan to regain control. Moments later, Ororo was rewarded when Logan’s steel gray eyes met hers. She returned his gaze with her ever-present calm and a slow smile.
“Damn, darlin’,” he began, his shoulders heaving from the effort of caging the beast within. “Didn’t mean to lose it like that, but I could smell what those fuckers wanted to do with ya. Ya know I’d never hurt ya, right?”
“Number one, Logan”watch your language. And two, Logan, you responded as anyone would who encountered a threat. For that, I am grateful, my friend,” she offered. “Now, I must gather my things and we should leave before Scott decides to blast through the wall. He gave me five minutes to calm you.” She added the last part when she noticed the puzzled look on Logan’s face.
Logan nodded and gestured for her to retrieve her things from her room down the hall. As he watched her retreating back, Logan could do nothing but chuckle at how she could tame the feral in him, comfort him for losing control and admonish him for his language in the span of one statement. He followed her and watched as she blew out the scented candles that graced her room as she reached her duffle bag. For the first time in weeks, he gave her room a thorough once-over. Somebody’s been busy. The small space looked completely different than the first night they saw it. Scented candles graced every corner, there was soft, muted lighting, and a few small pieces of African art adorning the place now. He wondered how she kept the other girls from stealing her stuff. A long breath he hadn’t even known he was holding slowly found its way out of his chest. He wanted to address something that occurred earlier but had no idea how to do so without offending the beauty before him.
Well, I ain’t never been one to beat around tha’ bush. No need to start now.
“Uh…’Ro?” He nervously kneaded the back of his neck.
I’m nervous? What tha hell?!
Ororo turned from her task to face Logan, “Yes, Logan?”
“Well, I gotta question ta’ ask, but I don’t want ya to take it the wrong way. I mean, it’s not like I’m assumin’ anything…but I am a man, and I think I know what certain looks mean. I mean, I couldn’a made it this far in life by bein’ dense when it mattered…”
“Logan. You’re rambling.” He responded to her jest with a sheepish look. ‘You don’t ramble.”
Just what the hell is going on with me? Logan asked himself, pissed that he suddenly regressed to a babbling teenaged girl. I’m worse than Jubes. Fuck.
“Logan?” his thoughts were interrupted by her smoke on silk voice.
Yeah, silk and smoke. Real smooth-like. The kinda voice that you wanna drown in for hours. Uh-oh, he had begun to lose focus again.
“Sorry darlin’, don’t mean to freak ya out. It’s just…I got a certain ….vibe from ya while ya were on that stage. It looked and smelled like…” he began.
“Desire? Lust? Yearning?” she supplied without hesitation as she zipped her bag.
Completely dumbfounded by her cavalier attitude, Logan replied, “Well, yeah. Damn, didn’t expect ya to put it so bluntly.”
Ororo resumed her task of gathering her belongings as if Logan hadn’t just implied she desired him. “The gentleman we are pursuing is a telepath. I began feeling his psychic nudging weeks ago. He has been trying to persuade my thoughts and emotions since then.”
Logan shook his head and muttered, “Then, I wish ’em good luck. Your psi-shields are even stronger than mine. He’d have better luck breaking into Fort Knox than yer psyche.”
“I allowed him to enter my thoughts tonight, Logan. I figured that may be the break we need in this mission. Goddess knows we tried everything else.”
Logan was sure his head would swivel off, given how fast he whipped it around to face her, “Ya’ let him in? ‘Ro, ya sure that was a good idea?”
“It was only momentary, and I only let him read my surface thoughts. He has a very…interesting imagination.” Her face took on a weird look.
“Define ‘interesting,’ ‘Ro,” Logan could feel the beast clawing to be released again. Not now, dammit.
“He was constantly projecting his intentions of what he plans to do to with me once I have agreed to his terms”and he is fairly certain I will agree.” It seemed she was finding it hard to put those thoughts into words.
Logan’s senses had kicked back into overdrive. If there’s one problem ‘Ro has never had, it’s a problem with usin’ words. This fucker must be sicker’n we thought.
“’Ro, you alright?”
“Yes, yes. It appears our friend is still trying to read my thoughts. I just need a moment to focus and block him out.” Then she closed her eyes and slowed her breathing to an almost meditative state. “He is ever the persistent one.”
That was exactly had Logan so worried before. Whenever one allowed a telepath to read their thoughts”even surface thoughts”there always remained a faint signature that the telepath could use to try to breach them again within a short amount of time. It was like leaving a temporary trail of breadcrumbs. They had no idea how strong of a telepath this guy was, and ‘Ro could’ve just given him the opening he’d been waiting for.
“There. He’s blocked now.”
“…”
“Logan, please. Give me some credit, I knew the chance I took when I let him in, and I assure you I was in full control. Tonight, he wanted me to feel unbridled lust and desire, so I did. Only the difference is, he was hoping I would direct it his way. Instead, I chose another outlet.”
“Me.”
“Yes. You. Please forgive me for using you in such a way, my friend.”
“Forgive, hell. I wish ya’d look at me like that more often, ‘Ro,” he stated with a slow smile.
Ororo responded with a slow smile of her own. Then Logan watched as she took the money that was sent to her by the patrons and placed it in a small basket on her vanity. There had to be at least three grand there, easy. Logan raised his eyebrow.
*Uh, guys? Care to move things along? Scott’s about ready to blast the walls in.*
Ororo gave a low chuckle as she gathered her duffle, entwined her arm with Logan’s, and led him towards the club’s back exit.
“Uh, ‘Ro? Aren’t ya’ forgettin’ yer money?”
“Not at all. I leave the money for the other girls here. I have no desire or use for it, they do. Simple as that…and it also keeps them from raiding the items in my room,” she replied with a smile.
“Darlin’, yer one helluva woman.”
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