XCave.NET

It was a little after seven in the evening that Logan pulled in the x-mansion gates, a contented Ororo by his side and three very satisfied teenagers in the second row. The rest of the vehicle was overflowing with bags from various stores, which the girls had raided.

They had barely pulled into the garage, when the husband-wife duo of Scott and Jean Grey-Summers descended down on them, like two ‘information scavenging’ vultures.

---

“What took you so long?” was the first thing out of Scott’s mouth, his words causing five pairs of eyes to stare at him as if he had gone stark raving mad, which, given the current situation and the piece of news he knew, he might as well have.
“What’s yer deal one-eye? Been walking on burning coals since morning?” Logan shot back. “Get off yer high-horse fer at least one day.”

“Ororo are you alright?” Jean asked coming forward from beside her husband. “You seem a bit tired. Maybe you should come to the infirmary and let me check you out.”


Surprised and rather taken aback at the redheaded doctor’s over the top concern about her health, Ororo tried her best to school her features before responding.

“Jean, I assure you that I am in perfectly health, in body, mind and spirit,” she answered with a serene smile gracing her lips. “Although, it looks to me that maybe you should extend that invitation to Scoot…Scott here.”

Scott frowned at Ororo’s near slip up. One afternoon with Logan and she was already talking like him. However, a nickname was the least of his worries right now. He had something very serious and life threatening on his mind. Life threatening for Logan.

“Come'n girls, get yer stuff out and skedaddle from here, before ‘fearless’ here blows a gasket,” Logan spoke over his shoulder as he started to exit from the vehicle. Behind him broke out a particularly loud bout of teenagy-giggles.

---

Minutes later,

The garage was empty except of the four senior x-men, with Jean and Scott standing on side, like the challengers, which they were, and Logan and Ororo playing the part of the champions whom the challengers were trying to beat, or in this case, wrangle the information out of.

“What have you two being doing behind our backs?” Jean asked with a slightly mischievous smile but with very carefully chosen words.
“Logan, you bastard. What have you done/” Alas, Scott wasn’t as tactful. He was seeing ‘red’, more so than normal.
“What are ya taking about Cyke?” Logan scowled at Scott. He was getting seriously pissed off now. Not only had Cyclops tried to stop them from going out, even if they had to go to the mall. He had also butted his visored head later and tried to make them come back sooner. And now. Now he was placing the cherry on the cake…more like hammering in the last nail in the ‘proverbial’ coffin.

“Behind your backs?” Ororo was calmer of the pair. “What are you talking about Jean?”
“You know what she is talking about?” Scott answered for his wife, getting the varying degrees of frowns and growls for his outburst. “You know what she is talking about?” he said softer the second time around.
“No…I don’t.” Ororo answered hesitantly. She had her mental and emotional shields up. Something was very wrong here. Both Scott and Jean were acting as if they had been possessed. Maybe there was some sort of mind control going on here.

However that line of thought went out the window at the next words out of Jean’s mouth.


“Ororo, are you pregnant?” The change in both Ororo and Logan’s facial and eye expressions was instant. While Logan’s scowl deepened, Ororo had a look on her face that could only be termed as pure and utter shock.
“Ororo?” Scott stepped forward, his hand raised towards the stunned weather goddess.

-SNIKT-

Jean reached forward and grabbed her husband’s hand, yanking him back and away, just in time to miss the swipe of three Adamantium claws. Logan had hunkered down and was staring with narrowed predatory eyes at Scott. He looked like he would attack at any moment.

“What the…” Scott broke his gaze from Ororo to look at his wife for some explanation for her actions.

**Scott, don’t make any sudden moves. The claws are out.** Jean warned telepathically.

Heeding her words, Scott stepped back to his initial position. He would have to conduct his investigation from here itself. He loved his body and wanted all of its parts to stay the way they were and not get hacked off by the feral Canadian.

---

“Wh-Who told you that?” Her shock fading slightly, Ororo finally managed to form words.
“No one.” Jean answered a bit hesitantly. She knew this question would come up, only she didn’t expect it to be the first one.
“Then how did you know?” Ororo was the one asking the questions, having stayed Logan’s progress with a single look and slight shake of her head.
“We-we…” Jean began. “We scanned your mind.”

“WHAT?” Ororo’s surprised cry rang out aloud, echoing from the high walls of the garage. “You did WHAT?”
“Scanned your mind,” Jean answered meekly.
“Ororo you’ve to try and understand,” Scott spoke up. “We had no other choice. We were worried about your well-being. We were worried,” he repeated casting a narrow-eyed scowl at Logan, who just answered it one of his own. “And from what we discovered, it is clear that it was rightly so.”

“I cannot believe this,” Ororo answered tightly. “You two are supposed to be my best-friends, or maybe should I say were supposed to be my best-friends.”
“Ororo….” Jean was the one to step forward this time, her steps stopping almost immediately at Ororo’s cold voice.
“Don’t. Don’t come near me,” the weather witch gritted out in a steeled voice.

With that, she turned away and started walking towards the garage door, her long white skirt swishing behind her. The weather outside the garage had suddenly grown dark and ominous, clearly mimicking the mood of its mistress.


“Ororo,” Scott started behind her, but was held back by a heavy hand on his shoulder.

“Stay the fuck away from her,” Logan warned. He had retracted the claws from the hand that held Scott right now, his other hand rising in front of his face. “Both of you. Back off.”
“Logan we are her….we’ve got to help….” Jean began, but Logan cut her off.
“No Red, ya have done all the helping ya could. Both of ya,” he stepped back to bring Scott into his line of sight. “So keep yer help ta yerself and let her be.”

“We can’t do that,” Jean argued. “Especially in her current state.”

“What state is that Jeannie?” Logan folded his hands in front of his chest, his clawed hand still having its claws out.
“She is pregnant Logan. Pregnant,” Jean narrowed her eyes at the ex-secret agent. “You should know that better than anyone else.”
“Me?!” Logan tried to sound surprised.
“Yes. You,” Jean answered, her words being interjected by a wimpy growling effort from Scott. “You are the father, are you not?”
“Yeah. So what?” Logan’s frank and calm answer surprised both Jean and Scott. They hadn’t expected this sort of an answer from Logan. Then again, they hadn’t expected Ororo to blow her top off either. This truly was a day of surprises.

“So when were the both of you going to tell us?” Scott mimicked Logan’s position, keeping a hand free to reach for his visor.
In response, Logan merely shrugged his shoulders. “We weren’t.”
“You weren’t?” Jean exclaimed loudly, her face coloring once again. This time with anger.

Outside the winds had picked up speed, rattling against the garage shutters.

“Of course he wasn’t,” Scott twisted Logan’s words to make it all about him. “He is a bloody dishonorable bast…oomph,” Scott gasped as a solid metal-laced fist found its way to his gut, knocking the air out of him as he grasped at his abdomen and fell onto his knees.

“SCOTT!” Jean cried out, as she raised her hand to fling Logan to the opposite side of the garage.

---

Logan was instantly up on his feet, both sets of claws out and ready for the attack he was expecting to come. Keeping his distance from the couple kneeling on the ground, he spoke in a cold growl.

“Scooter, I may be an asshole, but I ain’t without honor…not like you guys,” he threw in at the end.

With that, he started walking towards them, continuing to speak in the same tone.

“I ain’t the one who goes behind my friend’s back and sticks my nose where it don’t have any business being in the first place. And I definitely ain’t the one who does some psychic-telepathic mumbo jumbo and rape her mind.”

“Logan, I didn’t….I mean we didn’t mean to….” Jean started apologetically, all her momentary anger forgotten. “….we just wanted what was best for her.”
“Everyone says that Jeannie. Everyone. Magneto wants the best fer the mutants. Stryker wanted the best for the humans. Look where it got them and us,” Logan pointed out. “Ya died and yer pansy-ass husband nearly lost it. Just fer wanting the best.”
“I-I’m sorry.” Jean looked down. Scott, who was still holding his sides, didn’t say anything.

---

“As fer the question of ‘Ro being on the way, whatever gave you that idea? What did ya hear or see that made you get in her face and screw up everything?”
“We…I mean I saw…” Jean started.

//Flashback// (Jean’s P.O.V. – looking into Ororo’ head)

Ororo – “Logan. I-I’ve got something to ask you?”
Logan – “Yeah darlin’. Whatcha want ta ask?”

Ororo – “Its more like I have to tell you something.”
Logan – “Yeah ‘Ro,” (Logan’s voice slightly tight)

Ororo – “I want you to help with the kids.”
Logan – “’Ro…Do I have ta?”

Ororo – “Yes. They are as much yours as they are mine.”
Logan – “’Ro, you know I ain’t good with this caring n’ nurturing.”

Ororo – “You are lying and you know it. I have seen you how you are with Rogue and the other students. You are a natural at this.”
Logan – “’Ro…that is different. They-they’re all grown up.”

Ororo – “You mean they are not yours….your own,.your responsibility.” (Slightly annoyed)
Logan – “I didn’t say that. Ya know me. We had a deal. I pay the money and ya take care of it…of the things. Me helping out and getting my hands dirty wasn’t a part of the deal.”

Ororo – “Well, I am changing the ‘deal’. I want you to get involved and get your hands….as you so eloquently worded it…’Dirty’.”
Logan – “’Ro…” (Pleading voice)

Ororo – “Are you going to help or not?” (No nonsense tone)
Logan – “Hmph. I’ll do it….” (Mumbles)

Ororo – “I didn’t get that. Can you speak a little louder and look at me when you say it.”
Logan – “I said I’ll DO IT.” (Frowns)

Ororo – “That’s more like it. Good boy.” (Pats hand)
Logan – “Yeah, real good.” (Mumbles) “I was better of bad.”

//End Flashback//

---

Logan stood silent as Jean finished recounting the conversation she had eaves dropped on.

“So Logan, what do you have to say for yourself?” Jean asked with her hands crossed at her chest, a hard glint in her eyes.
“Nothing,” Logan shrugged. “Its pretty clear that there ain’t thing going on.”
“Asshole,” Scott muttered under his breath, instantly getting a growl from Logan for his verbal efforts.

“Logan how can you say this?” Jean anger jumped a couple of levels at Logan’s cavalier attitude. “How can you do this to Ororo and the kid….kids?!” She just realized the plural. “How many exactly are there?”
“Two,” Logan returned. “An' I ain’t doing anything wrong.”

“Wrong? WRONG?” Jean yelled out. “You know Scott was right about what he said to yourself. How can you do this to your own children, your own flesh and blood? How can you kill them like this?”
“Kill?” Logan’s head jerked up. “Who said anything about killin’ them?”
“You did,” Jean shot back. “When you said that you’ll pay the money and Ororo will take care of the…’things’. That’s what you called them.”

“Yeah so?” Logan looked confused. “That was our deal. Until she changed it,” he grumbled again.
“DEAL? Is that what you call it,” Jean got right into his face. “Is that what an abortion means to you….a DEAL?”

---

Time seemed to stand still as the two power houses faced off. Until suddenly, without any provocation, Logan did the one thing that neither Jean nor Scott expected him to do.

He threw his head back and burst out laughing.

Note: Logan’s gone crazy…well, more crazy than usual. What will Mr. El’Loco Claws do next? Coming up in the next chapter.