stories.htm
Ties That Bind
"Chapter Three: Safe-House"
Title:
Ties That Bind:
Safe-House (Chapter
Three)
Rating: T (what
does this mean?)
Date Written: September
2008
Word Count: 2935
Summary: Part Three of
"Ties That Bind". Logan returns to the
school to find himself face to face with Laura's new
enemies. And Laura herself begins to realise just how
sick she really is.
Disclaimer: Marvel/X-Men
characters, established concepts and previous
storylines full credit goes to Marvel, Stan Lee, Craig
Kyle, Chris Yost, and Co. Original storylines credit
goes to me. |
Chapter
Three: Safe-House
Logan took a drag from his cigar whilst
watching Laura's sleeping frame. Her breathing, he
noticed, had slightly improved in the last ten
minutes, but she still remained in an unconscious
state. He was starting to get a little worried.
Because her creators had yet to lace her bones with
Adamantium, before she
escaped the Facility, it meant she healed faster then he
did, who's bones had been laced with the unbreakable
metal. Logan knew he'd have healed long before now,
which meant Laura should have done too. With a worried
sigh, he leant back in his chair, knowing all he could
do right now was wait. Although, once
she did wake, he had no idea where he'd go from there.
Two and a half hours ago, Laura, beaten and bloody,
had collapsed into his arms in some filthily alley.
That wasn't Logan's idea of a family reunion. Of course,
after what had happened at the school, Logan knew when
he did eventually catch up with her, it wasn't going
to be a picnic, but he sure as hell had not expected
to find his kid 'sister' in the state that the teen
was in right now.
He knew he had to get her someplace safe, someplace no
one would think to look for her, or track her down. So, sticking to the shadows, he had
carried her deep into what was known as the "bad" or
"rough" parts of the city, to an old rundown apartment
block - Mostly occupied by people who couldn't afford
any better kind of living. It was a place he used when
he had things to do in the city.
Logan's small apartment was on the highest level of
the building, the eighth floor. It consisted of a
extra small bathroom, two extremely small bedrooms and
a lounge with a small kitchen. The kitchen simply being a
sink, a cooker and a refrigerator surrounded by a few sideboards and cabinets at one end of
the lounge. The whole place was in a dire need of a
house doctor, but it had running water and
electricity, wasn't too cold, and surprisingly didn't
smell. So it wasn't the Ritz, but the building was
still standing and was out of the way of the busy
streets, that suited Logan.
Logan had laid the unconscious
Laura onto the old Sofa,
hoping she'd wake soon - and not freak out. Then he'd sat
himself down
in the adjacent old chair, waiting - and wondering
what the hell had happened to her. His mind travelled
back to the confrontation he'd had earlier that day:
Eight hours ago - 2:30pm:
"For god sake, Summers!" growled Logan, "She's just a
kid!".
Scott Summers eyed Logan for a moment before he spoke,
"Logan, yesterday she murdered
thirteen of
us. That's
thirteen
families Emma and I have to contact to
inform them that their child is dead!". Logan
turned
away from the his team-mate. He knew
what a grim task that was, and he had in fact, in the
past, been in similar situations himself. Moments
ticked on by, neither Logan or Scott spoke.
Logan broke the silence. He spoke in a self-controlled
soft, but determined tone, "I'm not excusing what she
did, Scott. But it's not as if the kid had a choice.
It was Trigger Scent". "I'm well aware of what
happened, Logan. What set her off," shot back Scott
angrily, "but weather she had control of what she did
or not, is irrelevant. It happened. And I have to
protect the rest of the students", he paused for a few
seconds before continuing, "I'm sorry, but there's no
place for her here anymore". Logan felt a surge of
anger go though him. He couldn't believe Scott was
just giving up on one of their own. "What happened to
second chances, huh, Summers?! What happened to the
X-Men protecting their own?!" he argued. "No one here
at the school will be going after her, Logan. She
won't be the X-Men's enemy, if that's what you're
worried about. But the X-Men won't be friend to her
either. I'm sure you can understand why". Logan eyed
Scott, anger slowly rising inside.
"Yer've changed, yer know that?" growled
Logan. "I've done what I've had to do, Logan. What
others wouldn't. To keep Mutants safe" answered Scott.
"Yeah. Yer've finally grown a pair" spat Logan.
"Fantastic", he added sarcastically. "Logan, I really
think--" started Scott, but he stopped when the sound
of helicopters could be heard overhead. Logan moved to
the nearest window and looked out. A S.H.I.E.L.D
helicopter had just landed a few feet beyond the
basketball court, with another landing a little way
behind it. "Fury..." growled Logan. "I'm assuming you
know why they're here?" asked Scott, in an almost
sarcastic tone. Logan turned back to him, he didn't
speak, just eyed him angrily. Yes, he knew why
S.H.I.E.L.D had landed on their front porch. He had
expected Colonel Nick Fury, head of the Army-like
organization and his
"goons" to show up sooner or later.
At a quick pace, Logan headed across the grounds
towards Fury, who was briefing his soldiers - eight of
them, all packing large guns. Nick Fury was a tall,
well-built man in his late forties, with short black
hair - slightly greying at the sides. He wore his trade
mark black left eye patch, used to cover an injury he
had sustained in a long ago battle. And was dressed
smartly in his Amy uniform.
With his enhanced
hearing abilities, Logan could clearly hear the
briefing being held fifty foot in front of him.
"Careful, boys," began Fury, who spoke in a deep,
gruff-like tone, "Looks like we’re the first on the
scene. This is going to be extremely delicate,
especially as Logan’s involved". It was then that Fury
noticed his men were all looking at something behind
him, he turned to see what that something was: Logan,
heading towards them. "Ah. Speaking of..." he muttered
to himself.
Seconds later Logan reached them. "Logan" greeted Fury
in a friendly tone. The Colonel saw Logan's pissed off
expression and braced himself. "What the hell
are you doin’ here, Fury?!" barked Logan. "You already
know the answer to that, my friend" replied Fury,
"Where is she?" he asked. Logan didn't answer,
just glared at him. Fury sighed, "Logan, you know what
she’s done, and consequentially, you know what that
means. I have no choice but to bring her in". "No, yer
don’t", said Logan, crossing his arms, "Walk away".
Fury shook his head, "I can’t do that. She’s a danger
to the American people - Both Human and
Mutant". "No she
ain't" argued Logan in Laura's defence. "It weren't
her doin'. She was targeted by the bastards
who created her",
he insisted.
Fury was now beginning to get a little frustrated,
"I’m not discussing it here. S.H.I.L.D may be the
first on the scene right now. But others will arrive
soon. Now, I’ll ask again, Where is she?". Again,
Logan didn't answer, he just looked at the Colonel,
this time with a hint of a sarcastic smirk. "I don’t
want any trouble here, Logan", Fury insisted. "Funny.
‘Cause yer always seem to bring it", replied Logan.
Fury gave him an annoyed look. "Fine" he told him,
"If that’s the way you want to play this", he turned
to his soldiers, "Spread out. I want the subject
found. You get a shot, take it. But I want her alive,
understand?" he told them. They nodded and set off in
search of their target, "And boys..." he called after
them, "before you go trigger happy? Please remember,
this is a school".
Fury tuned back to Logan. "Funny," he began, in an
almost sneering
tone, "it only being you
out here, in her defence. No Miss Frost? Or Mister
Summers? Or any
of the X-Men for that matter". "They're busy" muttered
Logan uncomfortably. Fury gave a short laugh, "At
what," he looked at his watch, "Two thirty in the
afternoon?". At this point, Logan could feel himself
holding back a great deal. "No, I can guess the
scenario here. They’re also concerned, right?" carried
on Fury. "Yer start goin’ in that school guns blazin’,
they’ll have somethin' to be concerned
about", bit back Logan.
Fury sighed. This was getting him nowhere. He tried a
different approach, "In about ten minutes, it won’t
just be S.H.I.E.L.D on your front lawn, Logan. It’ll
be A.I.M, the F.B.I, maybe even those idiots at Hydra.
And anyone
else who thinks they cam handle her. You know that".
he paused, "Isn't it better I take her in? At last
she'll be treated fairly". "Fairly?
Is that what yer call it?" snapped Logan. "She's not a
criminal, Fury. She's a Kid!".
"She's a weapon,
Logan. The sooner you come to terms with that, the
easier it'll be on you - and on her.
Your protecting her will only go so far, last so long"
stated Fury. Not that he wanted to admit to it, but
Logan knew there was some truth to that.
There was silence between the two men for a few
moments. Fury watched Logan, he seemed to be lost in
thought. "Logan," said Fury, this time in a soft
friendly tone, "If you know where she is...". By the
sound of the Colonel's voice, Logan realised he was
trying to read him. He turn back, pulling a hard
expression, "Give it up, Fury", he growled, "Yer’ll
never find her". Fury's expression changed to that of
an angry man. He had finally had enough of this. Logan
could sense his anger, and inside he was laughing like
hell. "Oh, she’ll be found, Logan. Maybe not today,
but I assure you, she will
be found". And with that he walked away towards the
school, leaving Logan standing alone.
Logan let out a worried sigh. Ten hours ago he was in
Japan, shaking down a contact regarding an old friend.
Scott had called to tell him what had happened, and
he'd came straight home. What a mess...
thought Logan. He wondered if he'd been here, would
he'd have been able to stop Laura. Would he have been
able to help her? He hated himself for not being here
when he was needed. Now, all he could do was find her
before anyone else did. "I'm sorry I weren't there for
yer, kid..." he muttered sadly to himself, before
walking back across the grass, towards the school's
building.
Now - 10:30pm:
Logan stubbed out the remaining half of his cigar
on the arm of his chair. The fabric hissed a little
from being burnt. He then shoved the cigar into his
jacket pocket. He looked over at Laura's unconscious
form. He wondered if he was doing the right thing in
bringing her here. He was, as far as the law was
concerned, aiding and abetting a wanted felon. Well,
he thought, not like I ain't done that before.
Besides, in his mind, sure, she'd done things, bad
things - she'd killed people, just like he had, but she wasn't a criminal. She was a kid. A
kid who needed help.
Just then, Laura began to stir. "Finally..." Logan
muttered to himself. He lent forwards towards the
sofa, resting his elbows on his knees. "Hey, kid" he
said, quietly, "How yer feelin'?". For a few moments
she didn't react at all, then she suddenly bottled up
right, and began to quickly survey the room. Logan
immediately recognized what she was doing, looking for
escape routes. "Take it easy, kid. It's okay, yer
safe here" he assured her. She turned to face him, and
after a moment asked, "where are we?". "Look, Laura--"
began Logan, but was interrupted, "Were are we?!"
Laura repeated, this time in a more forceful tone.
"Still in New York, alright? Just... Kid, just take it
easy".
"You brought me here?" Laura asked Logan. "Yeah.
Listen--" he began, but she interrupted again, "Were
you followed?". This threw Logan off for a second,
"What? No. I weren't followed" he told her. "Are you
sure?!" she asked urgently. "I'm sure". he confirmed,
in a definite tone. "Been doin' this a while, yer
know" he
added, attempting a light hearted moment. She missed
the joke. Laura looked at him for a few moments. Logan
tried to work out what she was thinking, with zero
luck.
Then, without warning, Laura stood up, steadying
herself as she did so, she was extremely uneasy on
feet. Logan stood up also, and reached out to help her
stand. "Easy, easy..." he muttered. Laura shut her
eyes tight for a few moments, trying to adjust her
focus, which was still very blurry. Her head was
spinning, and she felt sick. The pain from A.I.M's
bullet's hadn't lessened any, in fact it seemed to be
getting worse. She noticed Logan watching her and
turned her head away from him.
The pain she was in hadn't escaped Logan. He could
also detect a scent coming from her which, as hard as
he tried, he couldn't quite figure out what it was.
Laura began to sway a little. "Kid, maybe yer should
sit down, huh?" he advised. "No" said Laura firmly, as
she pulled out of his grasp. Using all of her energy
concentrating on staying up right, she very slowly
made her way across the room to the door. Logan
followed, "Kid, what're yer doin'?" he asked, fully
knowing the answer. "Leaving" answered Laura, not
looking back. "Laura, yer're in pain. You can barely
stand. How far do yer think yer gonna get, huh?" he
said in a caring tone. Laura stopped, but didn't turn
back to face him.
Laura swallowed. She knew he was right, she wouldn't
get very far like this. She was in pain, she
could barely stand, moving was becoming harder and
harder with every step, and her senses had almost
completely faded. But she also knew she had to keep
moving. She had to put as much distance between her
and those who where coming for her as she could.
"Laura," Logan tried again, "Kid, please..." he said
pleadingly. Using as much energy as she could muster,
Laura spun round to face him, "Did the X-Men send you to bring me in?" she
asked
angrily. "Is that what this is? Do they want to
kill me?". For a moment
Logan was speechless. "No, kid" he said with a hint of
shock in his voice, "The X-Men don't wanna kill
you,
and they didn't send me to...", he paused, "bring yer in, either". "Then, what do you want with me?!"
Laura shouted, "Why are you here?!". Logan was taken
aback by her outburst, he inched closer to
her. "I'm here 'cause I care about yer". Laura
swallowed. "Kid, c'mon... lemme help yer". Laura
backed up, "Help me? Like the help you've given
over the last few months?" she said bitterly.
Ah crap. thought
Logan. He'd been afraid of this.
"You left me, Logan!" shouted Laura angrily.
"You said if I came to the school, you would help
me! You said you would protect me! That I would
be safe, that they couldn’t get to me. But you want
away, and they did get to me - and things went
bad!". With a sigh Logan momentarily closed his eyes,
guilt washed over him. The next words Laura spoke
weren't in anger, they were in a very different tone,
a tone Logan had never herd her use, they were almost
distant and choked out, that of a broken girl, "I
needed you... and you left...". Logan swallowed. He
felt awful. Not many people could make him feel this
bad, mostly because he didn't care. He wasn't
humanity's biggest fan. Until now he hadn't realised
how much Laura did need him - or though she needed
him.
"I know. I know what I said, kid" he said in a gentle,
but guilty tone, "And, I’m sorry I had to take off,
but, there were things I had to take care of". He
hoped she could understand that. "I thought yer'd be
alright" he finished. "Well, I wasn't!" Laura shot
back. She shook her head, "You didn't even say
anything. You just left..." she said in a
hollow tone. He did leave without telling her he was
going, and he felt guilty about that. The truth was,
he wasn't good at goodbyes, even temporary goodbyes,
and he honestly thought she'd be okay with Scott and
the others. He was wrong. "Laura, I'm sorry" he
repeated. "Too late..." said Laura. Her tone wasn't
bitter it was almost heavyhearted.
Logan didn't know what to say to that. He didn't know
what to do or where to look. The broken teen turned to
leave. Pushing past his guilt, Logan moved towards
her, "Kid, I'm not lettin' yer leave like this!".
"There is nothing more to say" she told him as she
reached for the door. Logan took her by the arm,
forcing her to face him. "That's not what I meant" he
growled, "Yer're in no fit state to walk outta here, and
yer know it". He sounded serious. "Yer need help" he
finished. Laura knew he was right. She could never
remember feeling like this, not even on the few
missions where she had been badly wounded. She could
feel her body slowing down, whatever was happening,
she wasn't heeling - and that worried her. "Fine"
she muttered, shaking off his grip, "I'll stay". Logan
watched her painfully move back towards the sofa,
wondering how the hell he was going to help her. |
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