#lhowlett

Tagging: Ororo Munroe & Logan Howlett with mention of others Location: The Bedford Post Inn; Bedford, NY Time Frame: Evening, Fri. Aug. 7, 2015 General Notes: Highlights of the wedding and reception.

Tagging: Ororo Munroe & Logan Howlett with Warren Worthington III, Kevin Sydney, & Scott Summers | mentions of the remaining X Institute staff Location: The Xavier Institute; Bedford Hills, NY Time Frame: Late/nighttime, Aug. 6/7, 2015 General Notes: The big night before the big day.

Surprise, Surprise | Jubilee & Wolverine

Alice,

I know you’re new. I still gotta give some kinda grade, so plan to meet with me before the weekend’s up I can see what you can do. That way I can make sure the exam fits. And yeah you really have to take it.

Logan

From: [email protected] Date: May 12th, 2015 To: [email protected] Subject: Danger Room Exam

Dear Professor Howlett, 

I know that the Danger Room exam is required for all students. However, I literally got here last Friday and admittedly, have no clue how my abilities work yet. So, I was wondering what the situation regarding my exam is, (i.e. do I really have to take it?). If so, I understand, due to it being mandatory. I would just like to know so I can prepare for it. 

Thank you very much.

Sincerely, 

Logan knew Ororo’s voice as well as he knew his own. He knew the tone she took when he was pushing her buttons. He knew when something was on her mind but she wasn’t quite ready to talk about it. He knew when she was truly happy. Knowing that she was in trouble was the reason that he’d sprinted out of the dining room and was taking the stairs two at a time. In a deep pit inside his mind, he knew there was a risk leaving the bunch of kids behind and was reminded of his abandonment as he heard other brawls mixed in with the screams and panic of students Kurt was ushering to safety. But that knowledge was too far away from where the rest of his focus had been. Ororo was an incredible woman--one of many reasons why he loved her and would be marrying her one day. There was little to tell him what he was going to rush into, but the fear he currently possessed hadn’t been for himself. His massive frame lumbered effortlessly through the library’s double doors and after his eyes speedily darted around the heaps of broken tables, fallen shelves and scattered books. It took less than two seconds for his nose to pick out Ororo’s scent through the whirl of dust and other body aromas. Hazel hues caught up with the scent and the moment he zeroed in on the hazardous mound of toppled bookcases, Logan’s entire six-plus frame went rigid and his lips slowly parted, almost revealing his once gritted teeth. Having his full memories restored, there were select moments where he could recall his heart stopping; this had been another one to add to the few other times it had occurred. It didn’t take long after for him to snap to and bound over the debris, smashing the already busted shelves and tables in the wake of his boot-clad steps. “Ro!” he barked, nearing the mass he knew she was trapped under.

The weight of the rubble sapped the air from Ororo’s lungs while the sharp edges of books, shelves and other debris pricked her back like a thousand needles. Unsure if she actually yelled his name or imagined it, she writhed back and forth, attempting to free herself from the trap carefully crafted by Riptide. However, every attempt only seemed to press her further into the pile, plunging her into darkness. Her vision adjusted instantly and after a quick assessment, she began to slowly extricate herself from the bookcase that was pinning her. In doing so, its contents slid, landing directly on top of her. Managing to shield her head from the impact at the last possible second, she decided to wait for help to arrive, attempting to keep her emotions in check despite the fear rising deep within her. Hearing the commotion from the battles occurring around the library only served to make her feel more helpless than she was. She was supposed to be leading the students into safety, not stuck powerless underneath a pile of rubble. Her breaths grew shallow, as if she needed to conserve the remaining oxygen. Consciously, she realized that it was starting– the tension in her knuckles, the heaving of her chest and the thumping of her heart all pointed to the obvious. Still, the will to not re-live the inevitable kept her tied to reality a little longer than she previously thought was possible considering the circumstances. You are in the library. At the Xavier Institute. In New York. In North America. You’re here. Not there. Facts were what she kept repeating. Facts would help her to remain sane. He heard you and he’s coming. He has to.

“Ro!” Logan called out again as soon as he heard the shifting of books. His shoes were compressing splayed books into one another, causing him to lose his balance; out of aggravation, he shoved them away with one foot and immediately gripped at a piece of a shelf, still attached to the rest of a large case. The muscles in his biceps tensed slightly as he pulled but within seconds, he saw a second bookcase sliding closer to the ground, possibly crushing her. The skin between his thick brows creased as he glared and spat, “Dammit!” between his clenched teeth. His strategic mentality kicked in quickly as he continued talking to his fianceé. “I promise I’m gonna get ya outta here, Darlin’ but I gotta hear your voice.” I gotta know you’re alive in there was a thought he immediately ordered himself not to think. “Tell me s’more about those flowers you want for the wedding.” Attempting at a light joke, despite his restless eyes desperate to figure a safe out for her, he added, “I’m listenin’ this time, I promise.”

Ororo blinked once, limbs motionless as wood turned into stone before her eyes. The doll her grandmother had sent all the way from New Jersey was slowly burning underneath the rubble. Her tiny arm stretched to collect it, but it was just out of reach. The smell of melting plastic was overpowering and no matter how long she held her breath to avoid the scent, it was still buried deep inside her nostrils, its pungent fragrance serving as a reminder of what happened. Time was something she had lost the ability to measure, ever since she called out for them and received no answer. Their groans ceased long ago, replaced by the occasional slippage of material that used to comprise her home. “Baba?” Maybe this was all a dream and all she had to do was wake up to fix it. “Mama?” Silence greeted her cries again and she convinced herself they were sleeping. It was comforting. Sleep was an inviting distraction from the pain of knowing. Her eyes shut, halting the effort of searching for their faces in the darkness. She was tired. A nap would help and maybe, by the time she awoke, everything would be as it should. The three of them laughing as Baba snapped photos to send back home to Babu and Bibi who would place them on the mantel along with the others. She would see it when she visited them in the summer. The lure of the reunion lulled her into a restful sleep.

There was a slight climb in Logan’s heartbeat when he hadn’t heard his fianceé respond to him but he forced his mind not to think the absolute worst. He hadn’t taken that long to get here, had he? After a violent shake of his head to immediately expel those thoughts as well, his eyes speedily followed the pattern which the bookcases had fallen, finally locking in on the bottom-most of them. The one above it seemed to be smashed into it at a corner, hinging the two together. As he took a long breath to fill his lungs, the smell of vomit wafting from the broken windows, made his nostrils flare; he didn’t know where it had come from but the momentary distraction caused him to growl. Wide, capable fingers gripped at the bottom-most shelf but before he’d applied any force to it, he heard Ororo’s voice, soft and minimal but his hypersensitive ears had without a doubt picked up her voice calling out to her parents. Mild relief washed over him but he felt an invasive constriction across his chest as he readjusted his stance and closed his fingers around the corner of the bookshelf. He heaved it up, lifting with it, the other cases over it. The top-most shelf was sliding slowly off, alleviating some of the weight, and a few more books had fallen but his efforts were working as he created more space below. While not the heaviest things he’d ever handled, he found himself grunting and speaking through ground teeth. “‘Ro…” Looking down past his his chest, in between the overlain cases, he saw snowy tresses but couldn’t see her face. “‘Ro, look at me,” he softly pled, his teeth still clenched tightly together. He knew one of his hands could support the weight of the remaining cases he’d been holding, but with his now free hand extending to her, he had been just out of reach. Frustration flared up, matching his level of concern; if he could lean in just a little further, he could close his hand around the top of her arm and pull her out toward the opening he’d been creating. Leaning in anymore than he was, however, would shift the entire unintended structure. It felt like Jenga, but he had to stay put and hope he could talk her down from her anxiety. “I’m right here, Love. You just gotta look up okay?” The tips of his fingers were beginning to shake as he kept his hand extended to her, but he ignored it while his natural gruff timbre tried to remind her, “I’m right here. We’re at the school and I’m gonna get you safe, but I need you to help me. It’s me and you.”

Darkness gave way to light and Ororo stared at the remnants of her childhood home. Shrapnel from an airplane’s wing was teetering precariously over what used to be the kitchen. The cover of night had shielded her from the horrible truth of her new surroundings. To her horror, someone’s torso had served as a pillow she rested on the previous night. The tattered plaid shirt was covered in the same blood and soot that stained the left side of her face. Over and over again she tried to wipe herself clean but the remainder of her ordeal was matted within her milky white hair. Tears didn’t come, the terror buried far too deep to present itself as anything but numbness. Unable to move, she peered to her right spotting her mother’s blue slingback heel. It had only been worn once, at a party her parents threw the week before. Despite the dust now covering its previously flawless sheen, Ororo still thought it was beautiful and its what she held onto when the darkness arrived to take her away once more.

Logan continued talking to Ororo, reminding her where she was, who he was, and promising to get her out despite receiving no acknowledgement of his presence. He paused his words while looking at the layout of the the bookcases he was supporting again, all the while knowing that he had to get to her on his own. Quickly, his mind thought of only one other way but it meant lowering the cases again, just a few inches down. He withdrew his free hand from the space he’d created and placed it on the bookcase above the bottom one. A third lay over that, holding more weight than the two he’d been gripping. Remorse flashed over him the moment before he lowered the cases about half of a foot down without letting them go; as he did this, he bent his knees slightly, only to snap them straight again, aiding the momentum needed as his hands violently thrust the top-most bookcase off. It slid for only a second before its deadweight sounded on the library floor. One down, two to go, Logan thought to himself. With one bookcase, he knew that repeating that action would cause it to slide into a few standing cases nearby; the other, however, had space amongst the surrounding debris for him to shove it upward with enough force for the shelf to stand upright and immediately fall backward. Aside from the books surrounding her, Logan now had a clear view of his fianceé and both hands free to deal with the final bookcase. After kicking a few more splayed books out of his way, he spread his hands far apart along one of the shelves and leaned his torso into the case while guiding it onto the ground where it lay on its side. The urge to demolish the damn thing for Ororo’s entrapment was strong but he resisted and turned back around, taking a knee beside her. His hand gingerly held at her forearm while his other hand reached out to cup his calloused palm and fingers to her cheek. “Storm. Say something to me,” he urged in a soft but hoarse voice. “You’re safe--I’ve got you.” The desire to hold her close but the knowledge not initiate made him physically ache. Instead he kept his intense hazel hues locked on her face and waited while his thumb began circling along the soft, bend of her arm--a bedtime habit of his when he wasn’t cradling her from behind.

Ororo suddenly felt light, the pressure from the debris subsiding quickly. Her lungs, weakened from the constriction of her ribcage, swelled to their full capacity and for the first time in days she breathed her first full breath. An unfamiliar hand several shades lighter than her own sable tone reached out to free her from the wreckage. They were taking her from her parents. She couldn’t leave them. Not when they were hurt more than she was. “I don’t wanna go! Please. I can’t leave them!” She was being carried away despite her protests and when she opened her eyes, she caught the last glimpse of her house. Tears as big as raindrops blurred her vision as she sobbed openly, clutching at the uniform of her rescuer. Inconsolable, profound loss seized her and she cried until there was nothing left to give. In the distance, she heard a gruff voice that sounded familiar, but she was too lost in her grief to remember its owner. Instead pieces of her life after the tragedy played. She grew restless as memories bombarded her, calming down only when she reached the first moments at the Institute. Jean was the first to greet her upon her arrival and the two formed a friendship that had only grown stronger over the years. Studious Scott was her second friend and her heart swelled with joy as she remembered how hard she worked to make sure her two best friends ended up together. Love continued to build as she thought of Xavier and how much trust he put in her to begin teaching. Then there were the students, many of whom were eager to learn not only about their powers but the world around them. Her students! She hoped Jubilee, Marie, Paul, Tessa and the others had made it out okay. All of the reminiscing pushed forward a thought to the forefront of her mind. With great effort, Ororo forced her eyes open, her vision flitting around the room until she saw his face. “Logan?”

Logan listened and sternly watched as she protested at first. When he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks, he brushed the rough pad of his thumb across her cheek while his other thumb continued circling on her forearm. Patience had never been a strong suit of his but he would wait for as long as Ororo needed. He spent his waiting, thinking about details. About how she and Scott had been the ones he’d faced upon his mission to kill the Professor--and how they had beaten him in that fight. He thought about her matching his muttered quips with her own cheeky responses got under his skin when he first decided to stay at the school for answers to his memory lapses. He thought about the fire in her eyes when he, unnecessarily, pushed buttons while she was showing him around the mansion, and he remembered himself growing uncomfortably warm, sweaty, as he made her temper rise, not knowing then, the extent of her abilities. His lips cracked at the recollection of his own irritation when she proceeded to comment on his body odor as a result of all the sweating she’d made him do. Forcing himself to be attentive to the present, he cracked a faint smirk while more relief settled in him. He could hear Ororo’s breathing calming down and let his recollections take a back seat in his mind when he saw her stark blue irises again. His thumb stopped circling against her smooth skin when she spoke his name and he nodded once to her. “Yeah. It’s me, Darlin’.” The hand that had been tending to her tears slid up to her hairline. “You remember where you’re at?” he asked, keeping his voice even but gruff to mask the slight worry tone.

Ororo registered the light brushes of his hand, her gaze rising above their heads to the painted ceiling above. The frescoes, despite the destruction surrounding them, remained intact and she found it comforting despite the pain radiating down her sides. Though he tried to hide it, she could hear the concern in his voice so she offered her best smile, mindful to keep any strain from her features. “I’m in the library. Well, what used to be the library.” Seeing that her fiancé was still rattled from his heroic effort, she reached out to him, stroking his sinewy forearm with reassuring pressure. “Do I need to tell you my full name and who’s president, too, or will that suffice?” She laughed at the groan she knew was heading her way until the sting of injury reminded her of her present condition, setting off a coughing fit that rivaled a heavy smoker’s. The last time she felt so fatigued escaped her, but she knew she needed water soon. “Logan...I…” Choking on the words, her voice lost its tone. Attempting to sit up, she wheezed, signaling with her hands what she needed.

Loganpursed his lips as she teased his question with one of her own. He hadn’t said anything but the change in his expression spoke for him; under the surface he’d been feeling more at ease until her words were lost to coughs and strained breaths. He wasn’t sure how badly she’d been injured, but he didn’t want to leave her behind in the wreckage. He repositioned his burly limbs while explaining, “I’ll take you down to the infirmary--get ya some water there.” One hand slid beneath the backs of her knees while the other held her across the middle of her back. As he came to his feet, he lifted her with little effort off of the ground and started toward the doors, glad to be getting them both away from the destruction and vomit and whatever memories she might’ve obtained from the moments before he’d heard her calling out, and hear Jubilee and her friend looking for him. For her. The pandemonium that he’d taken off from seemed to have died down already. He didn’t know who all had been hurt or to what extent; he didn’t know if any of the Brotherhood scumbags were still lingering about in the mansion but as he took to the stairs, he looked out and saw messes in the halls. For the most part, the estate sounded eerily quiet which brought both relief and suspicion to him. While he didn’t consider himself particularly close or amicable toward Kurt, he knew the man would be capable of getting the majority of students to safety. But he could also hear sniffles and urgent voices--they were low but not too low for his hypersensitive ears. His eyes went back to his fianceé as he reached the bottom of the stairs, however, and he took to making longer strides down the hall to the infirmary. While his arms were still around her, Logan bowed his head until his forehead was against hers. “The next time you go fightin’ in the library, you better make sure I’m nearby.” Shouldering the infirmary door open, he looked up and down the hall for a vacant room, seeing students huddled in one room, and the backs of Warren’s wings blocking the view of the bed in another room, his concern showed through a small twitch under his eye but he spotted the nearest vacant room and brought Ororo there to lie down and as soon as his hands were free he lumbered out of the room into the hall where a small cooler stood. He opened it and pulled a couple bottles of water out, and then made his way back to the room, twisting the cap off of one as he handed it over. “Where are you hurt?” he asked, standing beside her bed with the other bottle of water in his hand.

Ororo felt a rush of air leave her lungs when Logan’s strong arms lifted her high. For a split second, she couldn’t breathe due to his speedy movements, but soon she settled against his chest, her labored breaths eventually slowed to its normal rhythm. The library quickly changed into the hallway which soon turned to the staircase and before she knew it, she was being carried inside an empty room in the infirmary. It’d been awhile since he’d been her personal chariot and she had forgotten just how fast he was. Taking a brief moment to get used to her surroundings, Ororo kept her eyes clothes for a beat and once the feeling of spinning out of control left her, they opened to meet his concerned gaze. She accepted the water, taking a long sip to soothe her parched throat. Once the burning subsided, she set the bottle on the bedside table. “My ribs…” A sharp pain shot through her torso and her bloody hands reached down to clutch her left side. “I didn’t think it was that bad, but…” She paused, wincing as the pain grew worse. “I underestimated Riptide’s prowess.” Searching his eyes, she added, “Don’t give me that look, cher. In a matter of weeks, this will all be forgotten. I heal fast, remember?”

Not having spent too much time in the infirmary, Logan wasn’t sure exactly where he could find something that might help her out without him fumbling through drawers and cabinets like an idiot--at least that’s how he saw it. He found himself quietly cursing that tonight of all nights, Jean would be gone and Warren would be a one-man show in the infirmary. Charles might be able to help but I dunno where the hell he is, he thought to himself and the realization made him tense for only a second. He had to be safe; he was in one of the highest points of the mansion and they weren’t here for him to begin with. They weren’t here for the students either, but Logan had been an expert in strategy; the fights were meant for distractions and to counter any defense against their true objective--Cerebro. He couldn’t compound his concern for his fianceé with the uncertainty of other’s states right now, however. Not when he was seeing the pained look on her face and feeling his chest respond with the returning tightness, could he take those thoughts out of the compartments he’d stowed them in. It would cloud his mind, quickly and he needed it to be as clear as possible, for her. The muscles in his jaw rolled when he clenched it and it hadn’t gone unnoticed by Ororo. “Weeks ain’t now ‘Ro, so…” he let the sentence drift, resisting from completing his thought aloud. A new thought occurred to him as he momentarily stepped away from the side of her bed and shot his intense gaze around at the room’s various closed drawers and shut cabinets. One hard sniff, followed by another, and then he’d turned his head slightly, eyeing a different drawer. He’d repeated the process while nearing a middle drawer beneath some counter space and when he pulled it open, he’d found containers marked ‘Gauze’ and bottles marked with rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide. Some relief trickled over him as he snatched the gauze and peroxide out in one swoop of his hand. He’d found a roll of medical tape and grabbed it as well and then walked back over to Ororo’s bedside. He set the items down on the bed and prepared the gauze with a healthy amount of peroxide, tearing a long strip of the woven material off with his teeth and tipping the open peroxide bottle over into the cloth. Though his manner was typically rough-shot, his wide, calloused hands were gentle as he pushed the side of her top up enough for him to lay the gauze over her visible wound. “You gonna take it easy ‘til you’re better?”

When Logan sprang into action, Ororo focused on his movements through occasional winces, eventually catching on to his plan. Deciding to be the model patient, she moved along with his guiding touch, making it easy for him to dress her wounds. The pain, while still stinging, didn’t feel as powerful as it once had, the sharp stings settled into a sporadic ache that only increased when she made a sudden movement. His roughened fingertips were unnaturally smooth and she sported a soft smile at the grace he exhibited when applying the gauze. A chuckle danced on her lips as she watched him work. “I think Angel could use your help every once in a while. You’ve got the gift.” His question sparked some introspection and she hesitated, unsure of the answer. Despite her injuries, her thoughts quickly traveled to Riptide and his cohorts, wondering if this was a one-time attack or were more planned in the next few days. The safety of the students came to the forefront of her mind and she thought maybe it’d be best if they all sought refuge in the bunkers until the threat was put to rest for good. The library was probably a total loss and would have to be rebuilt from the ground up which was particularly sad because several rare books had been destroyed. It would be difficult to replace them all, but she was certain Xavier would try his damnedest to. She had no idea how the other parts of the mansion had fared as the tiny glimpse she got wasn’t enough to ascertain the damage. Hoping they wouldn’t have to spend the next few months going through extensive renovations, her thoughts shifted back to his initial question. How could she rest on her laurels when there was so much that needed to be done? She knew that he needed reassurance, but she was never good at fibbing. So she settled for a compromise. “I’ll try my best, Dr. Howlett.”

In the midst of cleaning Ororo’s wound, sopping up the blood, Logan heard her proposal of him helping Warren. He’d had his eyes fixed on what his hands were doing, but the teasing compliment that followed her suggestion made him dart his gaze at her smiling face. The sound that came from his throat while he looked back down was somewhere between a grunt and a desert dry chuckle. “Very funny,” he muttered, moving the bloodied gauze away. He tore off some fresh gauze with his teeth again, folded the piece until it was sized to cover her injury, and then pulled some tape off to surround the edges of the bandaging material. While leaving a little bit of peroxide onto the new gauze, he listened to her answer to his question and looked to her again with the same flat expression as before. Part of it had to do with the mild teasing, but his expression had far more to do with the rest of her answer. He knew what that meant and had even tried giving an answer like before. But he also knew how stubborn his fianceé could be--mostly because he was far worse. Knowing what his body could take, and knowing that she couldn’t heal like he could, however, was what stemmed his concern for her wellbeing. “I ain’t gonna baby you. I know you’re strong and don’t need all that. I just don’t want ya to push it ‘n make things worse, ‘Ro.” By the time he finished saying this, Logan had secured the clean gauze over the injured side of her ribs. He trashed the used gauze and hooked his foot around the leg of a nearby chair, drawing it closer so that he could sit down. “So d’ya need, or want anything?”

From his half-hearted chuckling, Ororo could tell a few corny jokes wouldn’t rid his penchant for worrying. Logan wasn’t the type to let things go on the first try and it was one of the reasons she found him endearing. However, just this once, she wished he would drop his pained expression for a little while. She was okay. A little bruised but certainly not broken. Ever since the proposal, she’d noticed he’d been a little more stressed than normal. Though he was able to hide it from the students, he couldn’t hide it from her. He’d been more of a perfectionist than usual and while he’d always suffered from bouts of grumpiness, this felt different. Tonight sure didn’t help his mood, but she knew that the uneasiness had a myriad of causes and the last thing she wanted to do was add to that feeling by being difficult or intentionally evasive. She was well aware that now things were different. There were going to be married, a team for life and as such, she needed to be completely honest. “I’m not going to lie to you. You know how much this place means to me and it’s hard for me to sit back and take it easy when so much needs to be done. I know I’m not the only one who’s been hurt. How can I lie here when people need my help? I don’t like being idle. So, it’s going to be hard resting. I’m always going. It’s how I’ve always been. Even as a child.” She paused as not-so-distant memories fought for the chance to be relived. “I realize that- that I wasn’t here for a while. It’s been a long time since that’s happened to me and it was probably because I was trapped underneath those bookcases for so long, but I assure you that I am fine.” Her icy gaze searched his dark one for a long moment. “What I want is for you to understand- to know that if I rush it’s because I care and want to be useful. I’m not trying to be difficult or stubborn. I’m only trying to help. That’s all.”

Logan kept himself from reacting quickly by taking a deep breath. He exhaled slow through his nostrils and focused on listening to the rest of what his fianceé had to say to him. His hand closed around the peroxide bottle while the other hand rested near hers--his fingertips resting directly against her forearm. “I do know that, Ororo. You think I don’t?” He couldn’t keep the jagged edge out of his voice--he never could, regardless of who he spoke to. All he could do was lessen it, which was what often happened when he spoke intimately with Ororo. “Just ‘cause you could take it easy for a little while doesn’t mean you’re useless or wouldn’t be able to help be while we fix up the school again. I’m not sayin’ to hold yourself up in our room until you’re better.” His mind sifted back through memories and as he spent a few wordless seconds thinking on his past. He found his dark hazel hues fixed on the blood stained on her hand and more prominent flashbacks churned through his mind like the shutter on a camera: Gunfire ringing in his ears. The potent smell of car exhaust. Shrill screams blended with panicked hollering and screeching tires. Victory whoops retreating with the departing cars. Blood on her hands from trying to hold herself together. His own hand attempting to assist her’s as panic ebbed and flowed where inevitable devastation pushed forward and pulled back inside him. The tears that streamed as he’d cradled her lifeless body to him while kneeling on a Detroit sidewalk. He didn’t feel this level of pain and anger and sorrow for her anymore as fifty years had passed since. And he didn’t grow as angry with himself or submerge himself in blame over his mental state anymore, when thoughts of his second wife rose in his mind: the countless arguments, his decision to withdraw from her; his night terrors and the close calls he’d had from injuring her with his claws. All of it bubbled and boiled until she couldn’t take it anymore and left. His past as a whole wasn’t something he had completely healed from however; his mind was the one part of him that was still susceptible to an average pace of healing. He got up from the chair while shoving those memories aside so that he could be present again and put back the peroxide and tape.Ororo’s fine tonight, he thought to himself. You’ve seen fatal flesh wounds before. This ain’t one of ‘em. She’s fine tonight and she’s gonna get better from here. While putting the items away and grabbing the unopened water bottle, he told himself, This ain’t a argument. We’re just talking. Logan then twisted the top off with the intent to dampen more gauze and clean some of the blood off Ororo’s hands. As he did this, with her knuckles resting at the base of his fingers, his dark tawny eyes watched what he’d been doing again. “I just want you to be careful. That’s all.”

Ororo listened to his gruff response, noting the control he attempted to portray despite the flaring nostrils. Despite her defiance, she understood his concerns and she was aware that her recovery would take a while longer than she was hoping it would. As he busied himself with putting away the peroxide and tape, his deliberate avoidance of her gaze was obvious and it didn’t take long for her to surmise why. Over the years, they shared the painful aspects of their pasts and even if he didn’t verbalize the thoughts going through his mind, she could sense he was holding back a lot. Twisting her lips, she allowed the silence between them to stretch, knowing they both needed the time to let their emotions settle so their speech remained reasonable. Her palm was flattened, having opened fully as soon as his fingers left hers. The sting of the myriad of tiny cuts paled in comparison to the loss of his comforting touch, but she swallowed the absence, knowing it was only temporary. Patience was soon rewarded when Logan returned to her side to resume looking after her wounds. His soft tone brought a smile to her lips and that momentary uncertainty began to subside. “I’ll be careful. If anything, I’ll be giving out orders rather than doing anything too strenuous.” She paused to watch him dispose of the bloodied gauze, waiting for his dark eyes to seek her light ones. “You should know all about that.” Unable to resist the lure of her joke, she chuckled, glad that something was able to break the tension around them.

Cole was still riding the post-production high. They had two more shows to go before their months of hard work came to a close. He was sitting inside the dining hall--the room that reminded him most of Hogwarts--in lounging clothes, the Grease T-Birds attire already abandoned to the costume racks in Professor Wagner’s classroom for the night. While shuffling a deck of cards in his hand, he glanced about at the scarce number of peers who’d also taken up lounging in the dining hall before his eyes locked on Eva. He’d gotten up from the bench and was about to walk over to ask her if she’d want to play a game with him when Logan’s voice boomed throughout the room, startling the teen.

Logan actually had plans to head to bed early tonight. He’d been all the way up in Pembroke, lying diagonally across the bed that he shared with his fianceé with his hands tucked behind his head. Despite being very conscious, his eyes were shut while his ears took in the white noise from the floors below. The urgent sound of Professor X’s voice piercing through the muffled student voices caused his eyes to snap open. As soon as he’d heard that the Brotherhood was descending upon them, Logan sprang from the bed, snatching his ribbed tank from the ground to throw back on with his dark pajama pant, and then sprinted out of the room to the stairs as the Professor continued giving instructions to him and the other teachers on the grounds. Knowing that he, amongst the staff, had the best defensive chances at the front of the school, he went there, growling under his breath at the sound of students’ voices coming from the dining hall. He knew they were welcome to be in there--so long as students were inside the mansion at this hour, he and most others on staff were more lenient with the curfew. But tonight he’d been wishing that they had been more abiding. Overhead, his hypersensitive ears could hear Kurt vanishing and reappearing along MacTaggert Hall, urging several female students from their room. It hadn’t distracted Logan, however, from filling his lungs and barking out from the dining hall threshold, “Hey, listen up! All ‘a you get up ‘n follow me now. It’s an emergency.” The second he finished this, the mansion’s front doors exploded open, nearly flying off of their hinges while Brotherhood members. Logan quickly spun around, exercising his size advantage to barricade the room’s primary entrance; several members hurried past him to further invade the school, including Mystique, but before he could pursue her, a young girl with a feline physique surprised him, springing out in front of him and swiping her short, razor-sharp claws across his face. She spent a number of seconds scoring his tank and exposed skin as much and as quickly as possible. Logan staggered back, into the hall, and while his initial thought was to shield his face from further maiming, he forced his own claws out and made to retaliate. She smartly took advantage of his removal from the entrance and immediately darted further inside the room to attack some of the students, simultaneous to the sudden appearance of another brotherhood member who quite literally appeared out of nowhere. The last to weasel their way into the room had been former X Institute student, Pyro, throwing a threatening enough flame directly at the entryway.

Rahne wasn’t as hyped as everyone else after the musical, not to say that she wasn’t excited after they performed, but she was exhausted, only hyped to get back to her room for some much needed R&R. She was changed out of her Frenchie outfit and into something more casual, she was moving through the halls, just focusing on making it to her room without getting too much attention drawn to herself. But it seemed like she wouldn’t get the chance. There was a feeling that Rahne couldn’t shake, like something bad was just waiting to happen, she thought it was nerves for the performance, but when she drew closer to the entrance hall she knew it was far worse than that. Hearing the front doors burst open, she dropped everything she was holding and ran for the front entrance, already hearing a din of voices shouting, some shouting for help, others shouting instructions to the students. She could pick out Professor Logan’s booming voice easily, and for the moment, it was the only voice she recognized, so it was the voice she moved towards. Trying to distinguish which mutants were from the school and which ones were attacking was a challenge in it’s own, but she saw a face she recognized. One that she hoped to never see again. Pyro. Her hands clenched into fists at the sight of the young mutant, so it was the Brotherhood that was invading. She should have guessed. Luckily, his first attack wasn’t aimed at her, because that fire looked like it would take out any mutant unlucky enough to be in it’s path. He wasn’t the only mutant who looked ready to attack anyone in their near vicinity, Rahne wasn’t sure what to make of one, she looked normal, but the other one? Well, where Rahne was wolf-like, this mutant was cat-like. Her eyes bounced between the two, fighting instincts rearing to go, unsure of which one to go after, at least two of them looked like they were immediately dangerous. But Rahne knew who she would go after, last time she met Pyro, he talked about recruiting her, right before belittling her. Guess it was time to show that she could handle one Brotherhood punk with an inflated ego. Praying to any god that would help her, Rahne felt herself shift to a form between wolf and human, a guttural growl coming from her lips as she glared the enemy mutants down.

The lounge these days seemed much busier and rowdier than it had previously, Eva wasn’t sure if it was just her feeling different or if that was actually fact but it had caused her to avoid the room in order to avoid the large crowds. She had found peace in the Dining Hall, which was where she now sat, her head tilted to the side as her pen danced across the paper in front of her, a letter to her brother. She knew she could quite easily call or email, but she wanted to write and tell him details of everything, and writing made it all feel somehow more personal. Everything was going incredibly well for Eva, her grades were between good and excellent depending on the subject, she had friends and she was genuinely happy. The only small issue was her Danger Room sessions. Eva wasn’t a fighter, she hated the very concept and often froze when confronted with conflict, no matter how many times Professor Logan shouted, or talked to her nicely, she just couldn’t be violent towards another person. Her powers too were an issue, she was terrified of them. Her research into the possible effects of time travel had made her extra careful and she very rarely used her powers, other than by accident, something else which made Danger Room sessions unbearable for her. Looking up from her letter to think for a moment, her eyes met Cole’s across the room and her lips curled into a smile. Seeing him stand and start to head her way, she quickly finished the sentence she was writing and slid the letter into her bag. Logan’s powerful voice suddenly boomed through the room and Eva jumped, a startled look appearing on her features as she looked over to the source of the voice. The crash of the main doors exploding open made her jump again and suddenly she was on her feet, she clenched her jaw and swallowed fearfully, not really wanting to see what was coming. She watched in horror as the Brotherhood came pouring in and she froze as she saw her professor get slashed across the face by a cat like girl, she saw others literally appear out of nowhere and she felt her whole body start to tremble, her legs started walking backwards without any thought from her, moving away from the newcomers, her complexion got even paler than usual and her dark eyes were wide with fear.

Logan’s temper was threatening to get the better of him as he felt the severed skin on his face and arms rejoin. He couldn’t be bothered by the sting so much as he was by Thornn and Pyro. The latter proved a more immediate threat with the likelihood of burning the room down and everyone in it. He knew he had to disarm the boy but had to be smart about approaching him, lest he end up singed. From Pyro’s former days at the school, Logan knew that he’d possessed a device strapped to the inside of his wrist--a modified lighter that Hank so brilliantly fashioned up for him. Destroying it would reduce him significantly as a threat but he didn’t have time to think on it much longer. Thornn was lunging at him again, seemingly determined to turn him to ribbons but Logan forced his own claws out, prepared to return what she’d given him. She darted about, pursuing him and retreating at the last second, driving his blood pressure up and his patience down while he picked up on her childish tactics against him.

Cole had taken one step in Logan’s direction, prepared to abide by the professor’s instructions but a large, quick ball of light poppedin front of him, making him instinctively step back. A moment later, a woman appeared where the light had been. She lowered her chin while keeping an uncomfortably seductive gaze on Cole as she purred, “Hello, handsome,” to which Cole dropped his brows low and jerked his head slightly to one side, not taking his eyes off of her. After he odd greeting, her expression turned vicious and quickly launched a boot-clad foot at the middle of his chest, causing him to fall back into the long row of benches behind him. Generally, he wasn’t one to willingly fight a female but he also never put up with anyone taking hits at him, outside of Danger Room training. Guess this is what that’s for he thought to himself as he quickly got to his feet. He sprang at her to tackle her down but she’d leaped out of the way, lifted her hands and vanished with the return of the strange light. Slightly bewildered, Cole regained his footing and quickly looked around for her. With his speedy panoramic scan of the room, he’d seen Rahne--looking like he’d seen her a few months ago--and felt a twinge of panic, knowing what he knew about her when she was in her more canine state. He saw a number of classmates take off in fear after Pyro shot a thick stream of flames into the room. He saw Logan being occupied by a scantily clad cat-girl who was looking at him like he was lunch, and as soon as his eyes fell on Eva again, he saw his initial adversary, Astra, reappear directly in front of of his brunette comrade.

Everywhere she looked Eva saw something she really didn’t want to, she’d never seen Rahne in her wolf form, only heard about it, the actual sight was equal parts awe inspiring and terrifying. The sight of Cole jumping forward towards a strange bright light was extremely unnerving, she had no idea what was going on. She instinctively narrowed her eyes as there was suddenly a bright light right in front of her and she heard a pop not dissimilar to the sound her own bubbles made when she used her powers. She instinctively backed away, colliding with a table behind her within a couple of steps. The next thing she knew the light was gone, and there was a tall dark haired woman before her, she looked older to Eva, more in line with the age of some of the professors. Any hope Eva had of this being some kind of school prank vanished. “What’s the matter sweetie, lover not a fighter?” The woman crooned at her. Eva’s only response was an incredibly scared nod of the head, but out of the corner of her eye she saw someone heading towards her, all she had to do was buy some time. Suddenly her feet were off the ground as Astra grabbed her top and lifted her, Eva squealed in terror but her mind was suddenly filled with the memory of her fight with Jacen, the punch she’d delivered and the bubble she’d held him in, she had to find that bravery again somehow, but it wasn’t forthcoming. The older woman’s face twisted into a snarl as she purred, “Well I guess you’re going to have a really bad evening.”

Cole felt the adrenaline coursing through him from the various altercations taking place around them but his gaze had been fixed on Eva and Astra. He produced one clone to watch his back while his hands came down on the table in front of him and he swung his body across the other side, treating the tabletop like a pommel horse. He landed rather quietly back on the hardwood floor and approached Astra from behind. She stood only a couple of inches shorter than he did but she seemed oblivious of her surroundings which benefitted Cole as he threw his arm around her neck quickly and flexed. “Let her go,” he demanded while pulling his arm toward himself, driving it further against Astra’s windpipe. The elder woman gasped and attempted to shake him off but Cole locked his free hand around his arresting arm’s wrist as Astra shoved Eva while letting her free. Cole’s next plan had been to push Astra, hard, away from the two of them but the woman held her now free hands up and vanished again, causing Cole to double forward slightly into the empty space in front of him. Irritation carved deep in his features as he quickly looked about but with his clone watching his back, he quickly went over to Eva. “Hey are you okay?” he quickly asked.

Eva kept her eyes firmly on the older woman’s, stoically refusing to let her eyes flick to the side to see who the approaching figure was, and find out whether they were friend or foe. “I-I-I’m used to b-bad days,” she stammered as a response to Astra’s comment, still trying to keep her distracted, “I have them a lot.” Eva’s eyes were slowly starting to well up as the panic and fear completely took hold but the next thing she saw offered a glimmer of hope. A strong looking arm wrapped itself around her assailant's throat and she heard the familiar tones of Cole’s voice. Initially Astra’s grip intensified but as she gasped she threw Eva through the air like a rag doll, Eva felt herself tumble before landing hard on the edge of one of the long wooden tables and skidding off and landing in a heap on the floor. She winced in pain as she shifted and tried to sit up and cried out as a sharp pain shot through her arm as she put weight on it, she felt a similar sensation as she put weight on her left leg, but not to the same extend. By the time she was standing, Cole was by her side asking if she was ok. Her gratitude for being rescued was replaced by an intense feeling of guilt for needing to be rescued. “I’m s-s-so s-sorry,” she mumbled to him, her voice cracking with the emotions she was feeling.

Any initial high Rahne might have felt during this fight was quick to wear off, or she thought it did. She didn’t really have time to think about whether or not she was feeling any adrenaline. Or whether or not she regretted provoking Pyro, although, the cut on his arm was a comforting sight. It was the only attack she was able to get on him, a lucky one. Lunging to the side, she felt the heat from the fireball at her back, a little too close for comfort. Rahne was a close quarters fighter, and a damn good one, but Pyro wasn’t giving her another chance to get close, keeping her at bay with his power must have been easy for him. She could hear the fights around her, part of her wanting to abandon this fight and help her friends, but she knew Pyro could cause more damage if he was left to his own devices. It killed her to hear them but not be able to help. “You should be paying more attention!” Pyro’s voice caused Rahne’s thoughts to snap back to the fight, rolling to the side to dodge yet another pillar of flame. Too slow she mentally yelled at herself, bracing herself for any consequences for her delayed reaction. Feeling an intense heat on her arm, she quickly yanked her arm close to her, clenching her teeth to avoid yelping out in pain. “Don’t they teach you anything here?” Risking a moment to asses her injury, Rahne mentally kicked herself for being caught off guard. Her jacket got the worst of it, the flames just grazed the skin of her arm, enough to hurt like a bitch, might even earn her a scar, but, luckily, not nearly enough for her to worry about at the moment. “Maybe I was wrong to think you were strong enough to be in the Brotherhood.” Blinking back tears of pain, she growled at the teen, lowering her stance, rearing to pounce in any direction. “I’ll make ya’ eat those words, John.” Rahne noted his scowl with a small grin, he was easily agitated? That might help her. He kept his distance, as he had this whole time, but Rahne was thinking of how to get past that fiery defense of his. “What’s wrong, Pyro? Are ya’ afraid t’ fight me one-on-one? Where’s all tha’ ‘Brotherhood bravado’ now? Is someone afraid o’ the big, bad wolf?” Well, that got a reaction out of him. Instead of moving to the side, Rahne took a risk and lunged at Pyro, ducking just under the flames, no doubt earning her some singed hairs, but it got her close enough. Slashing with her good arm, she felt Pyro’s shirt tear under her sharp claws, but that was it. He surprisingly quick on his feet and moved to dodge her attack. “Damn.” Moving to avoid any counterattack he might have planned, she glared him down from afar, once again in that all too familiar stand-off. This fight was going nowhere if she wasn’t able to keep him from making those flames.

Logan watched Thornn leap in the air, bearing her claws out as though she had no fear for his own set. He knew that she couldn’t retreat from a midair jump, which invited his chance to level her. In the last moment, he retracted the trio in his left hand, balled it up in a fist and thrust it hard, up into her stomach. Thornn’s eyes went wide and she barely made a sound as he knocked the wind out of her. When Logan withdrew his fist, she staggered back and he kept true to his private promise, slicing three parallel marks across the right side of her burnt copper complexion before she fell back, held herself and attempted to fill her lungs with air again enough to hiss and moan in pain. She’d have to be someone else’s problem for the team being, however; Pyro’s flames were distracting him and seeing one of the other students attempt to best him, knowing they wouldn’t heal well if he managed to singe them, further drove Logan to helping them. Despite his mass, Logan was plenty agile and quick on his feet. To his fortune, his former student had his back to him, so the elder man increased his speed and bowed his head when he’d been a few meters away from ramming the top of his metal-coated cranium into back of Pyro’s neck. The boy’s blond head reared back as groaned in pain and fell to his knees, his hands instinctively reaching for the back of his head--exactly as Logan had been counting on. As he righted himself, he gripped his thick fingers around Pyro’s wrist and felt an urge to squeeze just a little more, knowing full well that enough pressure would pop his wrist out of place. Instead, he forcibly twisted the boy’s wrist around so that he could get a quick gander at the contraption fashioned for him after he departed from the school. “Heh, betcha can’t go pick one’a these up at a liquor store, bub,” sassed Logan, right before exposing a set of claws and swiping it across the device’s trigger. It sprang apart and lighter fluid squirted up across Logan’s fingers. The elder man stared at the colorless fluid--his face growing stern with disgust from the smell, and when he looked to Pyro, the boy’s face was full of fear of his new vulnerability. Immediately after retracting his claws, he switched hands, simultaneously punching the boy’s chest while grabbing a fistful of his shirt and hoisting him to his feet, and then off of them. “Seems Sinclair’s gotta bone to pick with ya,” he gruffed, not looking over his shoulders at the young wolf girl. “So I’m gonna do ya a one time favor and let ya go. She can deal with y--” His words cut off as though someone abruptly crushed his windpipe. Over the commotion in the dining hall and through all the colliding noise around him, he heard a familiar voice calling for him from upstairs. It was one of few voices who could stop him dead in his tracks. Grinding his teeth, Logan dropped Pyro without warning, shot a look over his shoulders to Rahne and told her, “All yours, kid,” before bounding away from the hall and up the north end staircase.

Cole’s

brows furrowed in confusion, “Sorry for what?” he couldn’t help asking though he doubted now was the time listen for an answer--not when there were fights and ambushes happening around them. Over his shoulder he’d heard his own voice from his clone rapidly holler, “Look out!” but when Cole turned to look, he’d been kicked in the ribs. The initial shock and sting made him stagger and almost double into the side that had been kicked, but the adrenaline coursing through him allowed him to ignore it for the time being as Astra cast him a wide, shameless grin. “Better leave your girlfriend alone and focus on me, handsome,” she insisted before making another move. Thinking fast as he pivoted out of the way, Cole tried to think of a way to stop someone who’d been like trying to catch smoke. She continued to attempt to get cheap shots in but the time she’d reappear, either he or his clone had been attuned enough to warn the other in enough time to block her. The more he fought while trying to keep close to Eva, the more he was learning and realizing just what was allowing her to teleport--her hands. She’d broken and thrown items from the dining table at him and his clone, causing him to gain minor cuts along his forearms but the separation from his clone allowed him to sustain it and the kick to the ribs separately for the time being. Eyes narrowing slightly, Cole continued to attempt to wear her down, or rather hoped he was wearing her down, as he parried her and thought of a way to bind her hands. If he could keep her from disappearing and reappearing long enough, he might be able to knock her out or render her useless until something else could be done. He just wasn’t sure ‘how’ yet.

Rahne wasn’t one to ask for help, even in a situation like this, her parents always said she was too stubborn. Besides, her little fight with Pyro was more than just protecting her home, it was personal. Meeting Pyro before made her doubt herself, made her question Xavier and the school after everything they did for her. And now he was here, attacking her home and friends directly. That wasn’t something she was going to let slide. Rahne’s mind raced to think of various plans, but all of them disappeared when Professor Logan appeared, apart from seeing him before all hell broke loose, Rahne didn’t keep tracks on him, and apparently, neither did Pyro. He seemed to be regretting that now. At the mention of her name, Rahne’s features mellowed out a bit, appearing more human as she watched the exchange between the two. “Thanks, Professor.” Rahne gave Logan a nod and watched him leave before turning her attention back to Pyro. “Hey, come on, we are all mutants here, right? We are all fighting for the same thing. A mutant like you? The Brotherhood could use you.” Pyro looked at her, trying to keep that bravado going. Rahne only responded to with a small, wicked grin. “I thought I wasn’t strong enough for your Brotherhood.” She rolled her neck to the side, punching the inside of her hand, a cliche gesture, but it got her message across. “I don’t need fire to beat you.” Pyro took up a fighting position and Rahne could see the destroyed lighter that was strapped to his wrist. “Aye? I bet tha’ fancy lighter o’ yours really helped.” Striding up to Pyro, she found confidence in herself that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Pyro threw a punch as soon as Rahne was close enough, but it was expected and Rahne dodged it with ease. Ignoring the now throbbing pain of her burned arm, Rahne grabbed Pyro by his shirt, having turned almost fully human at this point. Some might have taken the gesture as overconfidence, but her slip-up in the Danger Room with Cole was still fresh in her mind, she didn’t want to risk that side of her coming out again. She fought the urge to look for Cole, she saw him after the musical so he had to be nearby. “Worried about someone else? Typical coming from one of Xavier’s. You should still be focusing on me, wolfie.” That got her attention fully on the mutant in front of her, Rahne scoffed, drilling her knee into Pyro’s stomach before pushing him away from her, watching him stumble back, trying to regain his balance. “Oh, I’m goin’ t’ have fun with this.”

Eva opened her trembling mouth to reply to Cole’s question but before she had chance to utter a single word her friend was gone. She watched in wide eyed terror as Cole received a kick to the ribs and stumbled away from her. She had to do something to help, but she had no idea what. Her brown eyes watched the scene unfold in front of her, as Astra appeared before Cole and then disappeared after making a cheap shot only to reappear before his clone and do the same, and the sequence continued. That’s when she spotted a chance. Astra was predictable, always changing between Cole and his clone and her timing seemed to always be, Eva started counting the seconds between the older woman disappearing and reappearing, Eva’s timing had to be perfect. She narrowed her dark eyes and focused on the Cole nearest her, where she thought Astra would appear once she’d finished her latest attack on his clone. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a shadow prowling cat-like along the nearest wall, but she ignored it, she had to focus. There was a bright light from Cole’s clone’s location and Eva counted in her head, throwing both hands out in front of her as she counted ‘7’, her right arm protested with a shooting pain running the length of it but she pushed the pain aside. Her dark brown eyes turned electric blue with the activation of her powers and a sound like a crack of thunder echoed around the room, followed by a bright blue flash exactly where Eva had intended. The perfectly timed spherical time bubble appeared out of nowhere and inside it was a completely unmoving Astra, held frozen in time the instant her teleport had completed. Eva let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, “I did it,” she mumbled, but she could feel her control slipping due to her panicked state of mind. “I can’t hold it!” She shouted to Cole, the panic clear in her voice. She wasn’t sure if Cole knew enough about her powers to know he wouldn’t be affected by the bubble as he wasn’t in it’s area of effect when it was activated. “Grab her! The bubble won’t affect you.” Eva couldn’t say any more as all of her concentration went on maintaining the bubble, she saw Cole understandably hesitate but then had to close her eyes tight as she concentrated even more. Eva held the bubble for as long as she could, her features twisting into a grimace the harder she tried, there was a loud ‘pop’ sound and she knew the bubble was gone. Eva’s eyes snapped open and she looked forward, hoping she’d given Cole enough time to act.

Cole felt himself growing frustrated even further as the parrying game--or at least Astra seemed to treat it like a game--continued between them. Thanks to Professor Wagner, he used to think that teleporting seemed like a cool power, but now all he wanted to do was dropkick Astra. He and his clone kept meeting her attempted attacks defensively until Astra appeared inside of a large bubble directly in front of Cole’s clone. Cole and his clone bore identical looks of surprise as the elder woman’s menacing expression and raised fist remained frozen. He heard Eva shout and both he and the clone looked back at her before turning a wary eye on Astra, or more so, the bubble surrounding her. He knew Eva could manipulate time but he also knew that she generally wasn’t in the best control of it. by no means did he want to end up trapped in the past or thrust into the future but taking the chance seemed like the only opportunity he’d have at besting Astra. His clone spread its arms and threw its weight toward the bubble at the same time that it popped; it all happened very fast but by the time Astra was able to move again, the clone’s semi-muscular arms were locked tightly around the woman, arresting access to her hands as it tackled her to the ground. The clone’s shoulder absorbed most of the impact from the tackle and Cole knew he’d feel it later but for the time being he’d quickly looked around for something to keep Astra’s hands restricted in case he was unable to consciously keep his clone present to detain her. His eyes locked on a gold rope that loosely bound one of the dining hall window drapes open. Darting past Eva with a quick, authentic, “Way to go,” his fingers worked fast to undo the loose knot and bring it back to work with his clone. His clone forcibly repositioned Astra’s hands behind her back while Cole began winding the rope between and around her wrists, unaware of the feline female prowling from behind them.

Upon opening her eyes, the scene before her made Eva smile, creating and maintaining the time bubble had taken a lot out of her but it had worked, the teleporter who had attacked her was now held tightly in the arms of one of the Cole’s, she couldn’t tell if it was him or his clone. She started to hobble towards them, her ankle still refusing to take her weight and her smile broadened as she heard the praise from Cole as he went to fetch the rope from the curtain, the praise really meant a lot. He was back with his clone working on tying Astra up before Eva got there, the whole time she walked she had the feeling that she’d forgotten something, something she should be focusing on. It was too late by the time she saw it. The feline prowler she’d spotted in the shadows earlier was already in the air, her pounce already in effect and her razor sharp claws extended and glistening in the light. But Thornn’s leap wasn’t aimed at Eva; the cat-like girl’s target was Cole. Acting on pure instinct, Eva jumped, her body collided roughly with Cole’s and he was knocked backwards to the floor with a bump but he was out of harm’s way, which had been Eva’s intention. The bared claws which had been bound for Cole’s neck struck Eva’s side and penetrated deep into her body, Eva howled in agony as the attack struck. The agile Thornn was able to twist in time to land a second attack across Eva’s back, leaving more deep gouges in the young Australian’s already battered body, the wounds across her back weren’t as bad as the first strike had been, but Eva still screamed in pain as the sting took hold. Both of Eva’s hands went straight to her side, to the site of the most extreme pain and her fingers were instantly covered in a warm fluid as blood flowed freely from the deep wounds. But Cole was ok, that’s all that mattered to Eva. With a bravery she didn’t know she possessed Eva turned to face Thornn, who had landed gracefully on her feet nearby. “Is he rrreally worth dying forrrr sweet-pea?” Thornn asked, her rolled r’s sounding like a malicious purr rather than a cute one. Eva coughed once and blood sprayed from her mouth before she managed her response, “They all are.” Her mind was filled with the smiling or laughing faces of all her friends at the institute, and as she said the last word, Eva threw her arms out in front of her, her bloodied fingers splaying and she focused on making another bubble, she heard a pop but her vision swam before her eyes and she couldn’t make out what she was seeing, she had no idea if the bubble had worked. Eva felt the strength completely leave her body and she fell to her knees, she could hear voices around her but it sounded like she was underwater and she couldn’t make out the words. Despite her situation, the only thing she could think about was how she could help her friends more and she hated the fact that she couldn’t think of a way.

Cole was in the midst of tightening the rope ends into a knot but before he could finish, he’d been knocked over, shocked, upset and then shocked again as he saw Eva dart in front of where his back had once been and attempt to take on the cat-looking teen. He saw the blood pool through Eva’s clothes and heard her cry out in pain. “Eva!” he’d called out Thornn questioned her martyrdom. His voice wasn’t particularly loud, nor was he more than a few feet away from where she had fallen, but there was heat behind his demeanor. He’d withdrawn his clone, wishing he’d been practicing his cloning of someone with a more useful power, but contained his natural strength and combative abilities to fight Thornn. Her claws were intimidating and her wild demeanor was unsettling as well, but despite stinging from the cuts he was quickly obtaining and adding onto with the ones he’d retained from his clone, he’d stayed on his feet and managed a few hits in on Thornn. She seemed to be aware of the rib injury Astra had given him but he kept blocking and managed to shake her attention from him after delivering an unforgiving fist to her gut, compounding the painful blow Logan had given her earlier. She backed off, hissing a string of profanities at Cole but he didn’t care what she had to say as she retreated and looked for another victim. His cinnamon irises flickered to Astra who was writhing on the floor in attempts to free her bindings but Cole quickly returned his attention to Eva. Blood was trickling down his triceps and forearms and his ribcage ached on one side but he ignored it while trying to get a response from Eva. “Hey, Eva can you hear me?” he asked, keeping calm and thinking fast on trying to stop the blood; his sweatshirt was off and being pressed against the largest gash while trying to coax her into answering him.

The fight with Pyro was taking it’s toll on Rahne, his previous shock at being rendered powerless had seemed to wear off as the fight drew on, and the teen could hold his own in a fight. The two found themselves at a standstill, staring the other down, waiting for someone to make a move when her attention was ripped from the fight by a scream, not like the screams of fear. This one was pained, and familiar. Eva? Rahne’s heart dropped, turning to look in the direction of the scream, blinking back tears. While she wasn’t super close to the aussie teen, Rahne treated her like a friend, and in truth viewed Eva as such. She wasn’t sure if the scream belonged to her friend or not and she even took a step towards the scream, part of her dying to help her friends, but she was stopped in her tracks as her hair was yanked back. Crying out, Rahne’s hands flew to the back of her head, Pyro pulling her backwards. “You are bad at keeping focused.” Rahne glared at him. “Go t’ hell.” Pyro simply smirked, throwing Rahne forward. Tumbling to the ground, Rahne hurried to get to her feet, only to receive a swift kick to the side, effectively knocking the wind out of her. “Come on, thought you had more fight than that.” Pyro knelt down to her level and Rahne felt his fist collide with the side of her face. “Stand up and fight!” He pulled his arm back, ready to hit her again, but Rahne caught his fist with ease, a growl coming from her throat as her form changed again, becoming more wolf-like as her anger grew. Standing to her feet, she pulled Pyro with her, not releasing her hold on his fist, claws extending as she glared him down. There it was again, that look of fear. Rahne drew her hand back, sharpened claws ready to tear whatever they were aimed at to ribbons, and they were currently aimed at a certain Brotherhood hothead. Rahne swung but pulled her hand back at the last second, Pyro flinching at a blow that hadn’t come yet. Her hand shook with anger, very fiber of her being wanted to do it, to hurt him, as much as she could. But Rahne couldn’t do it, she wasn’t a killer, and she wouldn’t sink to his level. She wouldn’t let her friends see this side of her. Not while she still had control. Taking a deep breath, Rahne quickly swiped a claw across Pyro’s cheek, drawing a thin, but deep cut which already started to bleed. “Ya’ are lucky tha’ is all ya’ are gettin’.” Her features returned to her human form, face still twisted into an expression of rage. “Tha’ might scar. Look at it next time ya’ feel like attackin’ this school.” Pulling her arm back, she put all of her anger into one punch, feeling more than a little satisfaction when she knocked that surprised look of Pyro’s face, watching him collapse. The only thing keeping him from laying sprawled on the floor was Rahne’s grip on his arm, which she promptly let him fall to the ground. Letting out a sigh, Rahne stumbled back, reaching out to grab something for support.

Her body was so heavy, how could she hold her own weight, she wasn’t that strong. Eva fell sideways, already on her knees it wasn’t too much of a fall, but the floor never came to meet her. Instead she felt an arm wrap around her and halt her fall. There was a voice, it sounded close, why was someone close to her?, they had a fight to win and other people to protect, at least she thought they did, she wasn’t sure of anything any more. The confusion took hold and suddenly Eva was scared, her whole body trembled and her breathing was short and sharp, causing an intense pain in her chest. Where was she? What had happened? Nothing made any sense. She felt a soft dabbing sensation on her injured side and tried to look at who was with her, her head rolling slightly on her weakened neck muscles. “C-Cole?” Though she was confused, she knew what she wanted to say, thinking of her friends before herself despite her ordeal, “fight? Get… cat, help… Rahne… Don’t… me” She was looking right at him but her eyes were unfocused and unseeing and there were tears streaming from them and down her paler than normal cheeks. Her brown eyes kept rolling back as her mind threatened to make her pass out but she didn’t want to. Every time she tried to move Eva felt a shooting pain from somewhere which caused her to wince with the pain, she couldn’t hold it off any longer, her eyes rolled all the way back and her entire body went limp as Eva’s whole world turned into dark nothingness.

Cole held the sweatshirt firmly in place against her bleeding side while staring sternly at her weary face. “Eva, you’re bleeding out on the floor.” He almost added, If I walk away, you could die, but he bit back from saying as much and instead brought his gaze back to where his hands were applying pressure in attempt to stop or at least slow the bleeding. “I need to get you to the infirmary.” A moment later, he’d pushed a clone out from his back and it stepped a short distance away, more in the middle of Rahne and Pyro’s fight, and where Cole knelt by Eva. His clone saw Thornn knocking a student out before rounding and turning her attention on him once more. She darted fast at him on all fours, feet chasing hands from the opposite side of the dining room. Cole’s clone took a ready stance, fists tightly clenched as though he were preparing to punch her. When she lunged at him again, however, Cole’s clone shifted his weight back before swinging his right leg with as much force as he could muster. He’d let out a bit of a grunt from the impact of his ankle connecting hard with her head, not unlike the way he might kick a soccer ball across the field. Thornn’s head whipped to one side while the rest of her body was jerked out of its agile pursuit. She fell fast, head first into a table end with a sickening smack before crumpling onto the floor a few feet from where Cole’s clone stood. There’d be some regret in having done that, in the form of a sore ankle, but he knew it’d be worth it if Thornn didn’t get up again tonight. The clone scanned the room while attempting to avoid putting much weight on his right foot but he spotted Astra standing on two feet--the drapes rope sitting in messy coils at her feet. The clones eyes grew with a wide glare as it spat, “Dammit,” the moment Astra’s hands went up. She vanished and seconds later, reappeared in front the clone but hadn’t geared up for a fight. Instead she quickly crouched by Thornn’s wirey frame and waved a lone hand before them. A second later, the two vanished behind a quick, bright light.

Rahne leaned heavily against the wall, her burned arm pulled close to her chest, after the fight, all the adrenaline left her and the burn was really starting to hurt now. More than she thought it would. She glanced over at Pyro, exhausted. She wasn’t expecting him to put up as much of a fight as he did after he lost his lighter. She only hoped that her punch would keep him down, even if he didn’t have his flames he was still a threat to the school and it’s students. The thought of the other students made Rahne remember the scream, Eva, she pushed herself off the wall, heading towards her friends when a bright light behind her grabbed her attention. Looking, she saw the girl from earlier, holding a very defeated looking tiger woman. How did she get there so quickly? And I never saw her pass me. Rahne’s question was answered as the girl grabbed Pyro’s shirt and disappeared in another flash of light. Rahne’s shoulders slumped, all that trouble, and they still got away. Dammit. Clenching her teeth, Rahne shook her head, moving as quickly as she could to where her friends were, seeing Cole before she saw another Cole with Eva. One was a clone, she knew that, but she wasn’t sure which. Probably the one kneeling next to Eva. “Oh my god.” Rahne brushed right past the Cole closest to her, running to Eva. “Eva?” Her hands hovered over Eva, but it seemed like Cole had the situation handled as much as he could. “She’s-we need t’ get her t’ the infirmary.” Rahne shrugged off her jacket, flinching a little as it slid over the burned arm before handing it to Cole so he might use it to help stop the bleeding. “Now.” She looked Cole over quickly, he didn’t look as injured as Eva. “Ya’ alright?” She asked, turning her attention back to Eva, Rahne’s mind already racing in an attempt to figure out a way to move their friend.

From: [email protected]

Date: 10/17/2014

To: [2014 lacrosse teams]

Subject: Lacrosse Game

Be ready to go, in uniform and at the bus at 4pm. Anyone not on the bus then will be benched for the next game.

Girls:

Point Guard: Yesenia Jimenez Shooting Guard: Nina Greene Small Forward: Tiffany Ochoa  Power Forward: Helen Steinberg Center: Robin White Alternate Guard: Stella Vo Alternate Forward: Jennifer Reese Alternate Center: Fiona Gold

Boys:

Point Guard: Elias Montague Shooting Guard: Jeffrey Houston Small Forward: Tyler Ochoa Power Forward: Cyrus Johnson Center: Frances Duval Alternate Guard: Kyle McDonald Alternate Forward: Christopher Mills Alternate Center: Omar Olsen

The tentative game schedule is posted online.

Practice starts Monday at 4pm on the court. Come prepared or don’t bother showing up.