X-men: Mutant Awakening (Ch. 4)

Author's Note: Continued thanks to Kindar for his help! :)

Chapter 4

Minutes crept by in silence as he tried to put his attraction to Logan out of his mind. Chances were that Logan wasn't interested anyways. He rubbed his forehead in an attempt to force his thoughts to another subject -- Ororo, who had showed up at his door. She was a very nice lady, and probably a mutant, but he wondered what her 'powers' were. "Um, what can she do? Ororo? She's a mutant too, right?"

Brenda shook herself out of her thoughts. "Oh yeah, she is. She can kinda control weather -- call up winds, lightning, fog, etc."

Tad stared at her. The thought of a nice lady like her controlling all that made him a little uncomfortable but he supposed he could see the positive side of it. "Bet it makes for nice sunny days on picnics."

Brenda chuckled wryly. "...Something like that."
* * *

Logan was extraordinarily grumpy as he made his way through the mansion halls toward one of the kitchens. Anyone who knew Logan well enough gave him a wide berth, and others barely scrambled in time to avoid being shoved out of his way.

His class had been a near-disaster as he had fumbled through the basic grappling techniques and had been thrown by a kid of fifteen with super-strength. He couldn't concentrate for some reason, and had let his guard down.

Logan was not in the mood to talk, as he dug around the fridge for some beer, and came up empty other than some ginger ale. With an annoyed snort, he nearly slammed the door shut. With a loud exhale, he rubbed his eyes wearily. At least there was a bar at least a twenty minute 'cycle ride. He had no plans tonight. A beer sounded good. Maybe with enough beers, he'd get muddled enough not to care.

With that plan firmly set in his mind, he left the mansion.

* * *

Ororo smiled, dismissing the class. After the last of the students walked out of the room, she stood up, and stretched slightly. She debated never cramming her classes into a two hour period again, but only for a moment. Four hours had passed since she had left Tad. It was easier to split up the larger class into two portions with each batch of students taking two hours.

She knew that Brenda probably was still keeping him company, until she returned. Ororo walked toward one of the kitchens, and saw Bobby and Rogue eating dinner at the table, and sharing lovesick expressions.

She mentally rolled her eyes. Teenagers! But who could really blame Rogue for taking advantage of having no powers at the moment? She had her naked hand enclosed in Bobby's own. As she walked over to the fridge, they jumped and broke their handholds with a smidgen of guilt.

Ororo chuckled. "Hi guys. Just looking for something to drink..."  

Bobby and Marie relaxed with an embarrassed smile both on their faces.

She dug around the fridge for something cold to drink. Snagging a ginger ale, she opened the bottle, and took a small swig.

Her thoughts returned to Tad again, as she took another swallow.

Tad probably wouldn't be able to teleport just yet since Professor Xavier had embedded a slight compulsion in Tad's mind. It was only designed to keep him from teleporting in sudden fear until they helped him get it under control. The only side effect would be a headache if he ever attempted.
The Professor had refused at first, as it reminded him of something he had to do years ago... and didn't want to risk it happening all over again. Ororo had told him that it was only to prevent him teleporting for a day or so.

Xavier had reluctantly agreed to it, and proceeded to implant the trigger.

Bobby spoke, shaking Ororo out of her preoccupation with Tad. "Uh, I heard there's a new mutant in Med Bay? Are they alright?"

Ororo nodded, gathering her thoughts together. "Oh. Um, Yes. He's just there for observation overnight. You should be able to meet him tomorrow after we test him in the Danger Room."

Bobby shrugged. "That's cool."

Ororo glanced at both of them, and noticed Rogue was looking a bit anxious to resume dinner.
She smiled. "Sorry to interrupt your date. I should check on Tad. Brenda's with him right now."

Bobby shrugged, then Marie snaked her hand over to Bobby's own and squeezed. The young man's attention was recaptured by Rogue's smile.

Ororo shook her head ruefully. It was like she wasn't even here. She left the kitchen without another word.

* * *

Logan arrived at a bar nearby that catered to mutants, and doubled as a dance club on the weekends for teenage mutants. It was a home away from the strife and stress of the world for most mutants.
The only rule was to be polite, and courteous. If you had to pick a grudge, you were pointed outside, or at times, thrown outside. It helped when you had a mutant who could bulk up twice his size in muscle, as a bouncer.

As he barely nodded at the bouncer, who smiled in greeting, Logan wandered to the bar, and ordered a beer.

The bartender slid a cold beer bottle over the counter, and Logan caught it. He slapped money on the counter, and scanned the crowd for an empty spot.

He saw a booth in the far corner that was unoccupied, and made his way for it. Logan wasn't in the mood for engaging into conversations with several people he recognized from his class that were of drinking age, and around the mansion. He did have enough courtesy to nod at them once before he reached the booth.

Sliding into the booth with a low sigh, he twisted the cap off the beer, and took a large gulp, then set it down. He was still a bit irritated that he had flubbed a basic move that he should have known by heart. Logan went over the technique in his mind, and couldn't figure out how he had screwed it up in the first place. He studied his beer, with a frown.

Examining his emotions closely wasn't his strong suit, but he knew his distraction had started with the new comer. He took another absent-minded swig and set it down. His mind drifted, and an image of a younger man formed in his head. He scowled into his beer, as he felt guilt stabbing him in the heart. His feelings were conflicted, and he still was in love with Jean, even if she was gone. His love, if it was indeed love, for her wasn't something he could toss aside like a rag. But something drew him to Tad -- and he hadn't the faintest idea why.

Time passed by as he sat there, holding his beer. He took another long swallow, scowling at the now warm beer. Lost in his preoccupation, he hadn't realized someone walked up to him, and was waiting for him to notice. Logan froze, restraining himself from automatically skewering her. He glanced upward to see a pretty woman clad in a tight t-shirt, and a denim miniskirt. What did she want?

Despite wanting to be alone in his misery, he couldn't help but notice her body. It looked like it could be ample distraction... His dick twitched and started to swell slightly in his pants.

She looked vaguely familiar -- after a few moments of filtering her scent into his brain, he suddenly realized she had been in his defense class for a while. His mind fumbled for the name and then he had it.

"Katherine, right?"

She smiled, pleased that Logan remembered her. She had a flirtatious manner about her, and chuckled in reply. "Yep. I usually go by Kathy. Katherine makes me sound old! May I join you?"

Logan hesitated for a second, and then shrugged. Perhaps she could take his mind off other matters. Kathy seemed rather nice, and he remembered she did pretty well in his class. He shrugged and pointed with his beer to the empty seat. "Sure. I don't see you in my class anymore...?"

Kathy slid into the opposite seat with a small smile. "Oh. Um, yeah, about that, I've learned just about everything I needed. I just wanted to learn some self-defense." She glanced at Logan's beer, then her eyes flicked toward Logan's face. "Can I ice that for you?"

Logan studied his beer for a second, and placed it on the table in front of her. "Um, okay."

Kathy took the beer, and lightly blew on the exterior of it.

Logan stared as Kathy made an impressive inhale and exhale. She somehow made it seductive as visibly cold air surrounded the beer and he could see a very light sheen of frost coat the bottle.
She placed the bottle back on the table gently, and gave Logan a coy smile. "Give it a couple minutes, and it'll be just perfect."

Logan felt slightly uneasy but he had appreciated her display of power. "Ah, thanks."

Kathy leaned forward, feeling slightly frustrated that Logan seemed to be keeping her at a distance.

She smiled gently. "Um, so... Why's a guy like you sitting alone in a bar?"

Logan kept his eyes on his beer, and touched it and started to sip at it.

Logan spoke, with an arched eyebrow. "Because I wanted to be alone?"

Kathy pursued her lips together as if she wasn't quite sure she believed him. "No one really wants to be alone -- I wanted to see if you were willing for my company?"

Logan glanced up at Kathy, and frowned. "Uh, I'm sorry, but I probably am bad company." His nose told him that she was interested, but he suddenly felt weird as if she wasn't that attractive anymore. He would have tumbled her before she had blinked, that much he knew, at least before Jean. And before Tad? was the treacherous voice inside his head that made him scowl mentally.

"Listen, Kathy -- I'm sorry, but tonight's not a good night."

Here he was turning down what was a hot woman, and for what? He needed his head examined.

Kathy tossed her brown hair and shrugged. "Fair enough. Perhaps some other time?" She knew he was a bit interested, since he had given her a look-over once tonight. She was disappointed though that he hadn't bit.

Logan made a noncommittal reply, and watched Kathy walk away. He could scent her lack of pheromones and knew she'd been disappointed.

He scowled, gulping another swallow of his nearly empty beer. What was wrong with him?
Was it because of Jean? Maybe he hadn't enough time to get over her yet.

* * *

Ororo entered the Med Bay and found Brenda and Tad chatting quietly. With a bright smile, she strode up to the bed. "Are you hungry? Do you want a brief tour of the mansion? At least for some dinner, and meet some other mutants?"

Tad jerked slightly as Ororo came in. His nerves made him a bit jittery, especially with sudden movements or any unexpected guest. He relaxed the moment he saw her though.

He felt uncomfortable at the thought of meeting other mutants, but Brenda had a smile on her face, so it couldn't be that bad.

"Uh... Okay? I thought I was supposed to stay here overnight?"

Ororo shrugged, then laughed. "If you call this a prison break -- I will definitely restrain you!"

Tad stared at her, unsure whether to laugh or not.

Her laughter died down after a second. "Nah. I just thought you might want to look around... I'm sure you're bored to death down here."

Brenda chuckled. "Nah, we've been getting along fine so far."

Ororo felt pleased about that. "Great! Are you feeling any pains?"

Tad frowned. He felt his sides and chest with faint surprise. He didn't feel the pain this time. Sitting up with suddenly more ease, he glanced at Brenda. "Did you do something to me?"

Brenda shook her head strongly. "No. My mutation doesn't cover healing. Maybe yours does?"

Ororo frowned. "Lay down, Tad. I'll scan you again."

Tad sighed and flopped back down, with a slight grunt.

Ororo brought the portable scanner back over to the bed, and redid her scans over Tad. Carrying it back to the computer at the other side of the room. She blinked as she typed in a protocol to compare the two readings.

A spike of interest and excitement came from Ororo, attracting Brenda's attention. Brenda went over to Ororo's side, and looked at the readings. They didn't make much sense to her, but it obviously made Ororo impressed. Brenda spoke quietly. "What?"

Ororo pointed out several areas of the older map of Tad's body. "There. That's the sign of bruising, and here..." She pointed to the new map with a smile. "He somehow healed himself completely! What happened with you two this afternoon?"

Brenda shrugged. "We were just talking about this and that, mostly. Sharing our histories, I guess. He dropped off for a little bit. Oh, Logan stopped by to apologize too, after that."

Ororo frowned. "I wonder if his healing ability extends to others? I've not seen a healing mutant other than ...well, Logan, but that's strictly for himself..."

Brenda looked thoughtful. "You know, his lip did look a little better, but I wasn't sure in this light."

Ororo glanced at her, and shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough." She turned the computer monitor off, and returned to Tad's side. She had a broad grin on her face as she spoke. "I have some good news." 

Tad raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Ororo shook her head. "I am not sure how it happened, but, um, it appears that you've somehow healed yourself as well. There are mutants out there with multiple abilities occasionally."

She continued, as she peeked under the bandage confirming her suspicions. The gash had become a welt of healing skin. As she watched it for several seconds, the welt slowly became fainter. Judging from the speed of the healing, the welt would disappear in approximately fifteen minutes. She gently peeled the bandage off all the way, and tossed it out in the nearby bin. "You should be pretty much good as new in about twenty minutes."

Tad stared at her and then at Brenda. "No way. That's impossi-...er....um..." He colored slightly in embarrassment. "Um, right."

Ororo had an amused expression on her face.

Brenda chuckled. "Nothing's impossible when mutants are involved."

Tad smiled weakly. "Um, so I can get out of here?"

Brenda nodded. "No wheelchair needed." 

Ororo held out a hand to help Tad get out of bed, just in case.

Tad picked up his duffel and handed it to Brenda, who took it without a word. He pushed the blankets aside. He still wore the clothes he had on today, because his injuries never required him to be changed into a hospital gown. For that, he was thankful  -- he was still shy about being naked in front of anyone. He swung his legs over to the side, and slid down slowly until his socks met the chilly floor.

He stood up for a second.

Tad's knees buckled slightly as dizziness crashed inside his head. He flailed his arms a little, automatically reaching out for something to grab, and Ororo caught his hands, holding him firmly upright. The dizziness immediately passed as his head steadied once more. "Whoa... what was that?"

Ororo spoke firmly. "Tad? Are you alright now?" She was afraid he might have a side-effect for healing himself rather rapidly, but he seemed stable now.

Tad nodded silently, and slowly released his grip while standing on his feet. "I think I'm okay."

Ororo smiled softly. "Alright. Remember, we'll be with you in case you feel dizzy again."

Brenda glanced at Ororo. "What about his room? Or his bags?"

Ororo frowned in thought, then glanced at Brenda. "Yes. It's been ready since he arrived -- would you be a dear to drop his bag in there? I'll show him the room later tonight."

Brenda bobbed her head, and looked at Tad with a reassuring smile. "You'll be alright. I'll drop this off, and meet you guys for dinner."

Tad nodded, then watched Brenda leave with his bag, and suddenly felt a bit naked without it.

Ororo gestured with her finger for him to follow. "Come on. I'll get you set up with dinner. Then you can meet some others. Can you cook?"

(TBC)

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