Logan stares at her destroyed bike, her mood darkening further. She then turns towards the two newcomers, her eyes narrowing."Who the fuck are you guys?"
The girl in the visor steps forward. "I am Scottie Summers, and this is Ororo Munroe. We are from Xavier's Institute for Gifted Children!"
"I am not talkin' to ya, bub. Let the adults talk," Logan says, ignoring the visor-wearing girl and looking towards Storm.
"You!" Scottie glares at Logan angrily, but Ororo puts her hand on Scottie's shoulder to calm her down.
"We are here to help this child," Ororo says, looking at Marie. "But we should talk about that later, as this place is not safe. Those people can come back here anytime," She adds, then looks at me. "We should move, Aeon."
Sob Sob
I hear her, but my attention is more on the sobbing Marie who is clinging to me. I am glad that the metal fibers are a bit flexible, or else she wouldn't find this hug comfortable at all. I caress her back while radiating my Angelic Aura to calm her down.
"Yes, we have a jet so we can reach the Institute quickly, and then the Professor can give you a rundown of things," Scottie says, agreeing with her.
"And why do you think I should go with you? I ain't goin' anywhere, so you both can fuck off," Logan says with a pissed-off face, her claws ready to come out.
"The invitation was just for the girl… and Aeon too. I am perfectly fine if you don't come," Scottie says, glaring at Logan.
"Scottie, the professor would like to meet her too. She is one of us!" Ororo advises calmly.
"Yes, I suppose you are right… please, just come with us," Scottie says, looking at Logan defeatedly.
"And what if this is a trap, huh? You don't look like a good person to me, bub. What if you are in cahoots with that other group?" Logan asks with her arms folded, looking at Scottie with narrowed eyes.
"You! We just saved you! We are the good guys! How can you compare us to them?!" Scottie exclaims in irritation.
"You didn't save anyone. You could hardly hit that frog from what I saw!" Logan taunts with a smirk.
"Why you!!" Scottie reaches for her visor in anger.
"Logan, they are not our enemies," I speak at last as Marie wipes her red eyes and starts calming down. "I know the Professor they are talking about. Let's just go and meet him first," I say calmly.
Logan looks at me and then turns away, snorting.
Scottie gives me a thankful smile while Ororo heaves a relieved sigh.
As Marie leaves my embrace and looks towards them, Ororo steps forward. "What is your name, my child?" Ororo asks gently, but Marie backs away nearing me.
"I am Marie… did ya know who that other group was?" she asks hopefully.
"That… it's better if the professor explains it to you," Ororo replies gravely.
I notice Logan's gaze drifting towards her destroyed bike and shake my head in amusement.
I walk towards the remnants of the bike, touch its surface, and use Metal Constructs. All four people watch in amazement as I turn it into a suitcase.
"I will give you another one, soon," I say to a worried-looking Logan. I was not just taking it back to remake another one for Logan but also to remove the physical evidence. The tree trunk can be explained by a natural accident or something, but the bike can be traced.
"Snort, do what you want," Logan says in annoyance.
"Let's go then," I say, grabbing Marie's hand.
Scottie nods at me, and the three of us follow them both.
---
"How far is it? We've been walkin' for minutes," Logan says in irritation.
"We needed open space, so it has been parked a bit far," Scottie explains as we keep going further into the wilderness.
D.A.I.S.Y. had already informed Bobbi to return with Ghostwing as I will not be going back with her. It looks like I will have to make it up for Bobbi; I don't want her to feel that she is just a personal driver for me.
"Luke… why did ya kiss Anna?" Marie asks in a whisper as we both walk behind the rest of them.
Although I am still wearing a metal mask, I can still feel her intense gaze on my face. "When she tried to touch my face, I figured she had a similar power to yours, so I used my own powers to neutralize hers. But she was so powerful... I was afraid her powers might not be fully gone, so I kissed her as it would distract her and give me the most flesh-to-flesh contact for my powers to work," I give her a lengthy contrived explanation.
"Yeah… Anna was very powerful," Marie says as her hand grips mine tightly. "If she's like me, do ya think she… stole those powers from someone?" Marie asks with a depressed look.
"It is the most likely inference," I reply with a heavy sigh.
"After that, ya had her in your grasp, but ya let her go… because of me?" Marie asks curiously.
There were many reasons for me letting her go: not understanding her exact limits of power, not knowing who her backers or the group she was working with were, not having a proper place to contain someone as powerful as her, even Marie's own feelings. The list could go on.
But the main reason I let her go was her emotional state that I discerned through my Power: Emotion Smelling.
Even though she had a fierce look, when she was about to touch my face, I could smell her guilt that was overwhelming her. When I kissed her, although she was struggling, I could smell her lust, her happiness... her desire, and when I broke the kiss, I could also smell her fear as she gazed at me.
In that moment, I thought it was better to let her go for now, as this wouldn't be the last time the two of us will meet.
"Yeah, in the end, she is your sister. I didn't want to be rough with her," I say, giving the answer Marie wanted to hear. She hugs my arm affectionately, thanking you.
Soon, we arrive at a clearing where a jet is parked.
"This is the Blackbird, but we just call it the X-Jet," Scottie says proudly.
I am not that impressed, thinking that the Ghostwing is better. Marie looks at the plane in wonder while Logan just snorts.
We all enter the plane, where Scottie and Ororo take the front driver seats. Marie and I take the middle seats, with Logan taking the back seat.
The plane isn't that spacious, but it at least has six seats. Scottie starts the engine, and the plane lifts off vertically, almost silently. Another point I notice is that the plane doesn't seem to have retro-reflective panels for invisibility.
Hence, Scottie had to take a detour around the less populated paths so that fewer people would notice the jet.
The flight back is silent, with Marie, Logan, Ororo, and Scottie lost in their own thoughts. I can tell that the short encounter and battle had given these people a lot to think about.
I, myself, am musing about some future plans and how to move forward. Time passes, and soon we reach our destination.
The plane descends into what looks like an expansive estate.
I notice that the jet lowers onto a basketball court that opens up to reveal the underground parking area for it.
We all come out, in what seems like an empty space. "This underground area has been recently made, so that's why it's so empty," Scottie explains as she sees me looking around.
I follow them all up the stairs to a garage area with multiple cars and bikes stored within. Going out of the garage, we come out in front of a vast garden-like area.
"The professor is waiting for us at the mansion's door," Ororo says, looking back at all of us.
"Let's meet this professor of yours," Logan says with a huff as she walks ahead of Marie and me.
Marie has been quiet since the ride here, probably still coming to terms with her twin being alive and the drastic changes that have occurred to her.
We all see a large, old manor up ahead, and at the entrance, I notice two figures standing there.
"Good work, Scottie, Ororo. Glad to see you both are back safe and sound," Professor Xavier says, looking at both of them with a smile.
"We were not alone there, Professor. They had us beat," Scottie says, looking at the professor in seriousness.
"We will discuss that topic later," Professor Xavier says, noticing the arrival of new guests. He then turns to me with a warm smile. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Watson. I am pleased you accepted my invitation to visit the school."
He must have recognized me from not being able to penetrate my mind. I will have to solve this problem soon, as having an impermeable mind apparently makes me easier to spot for telepaths.
All eyes are on me as I put my hand on my mask. The metal starts to reshape and constrict, forming a mobile phone in my hand as I am once again in my civilian clothing. "It's nice to see you again too, Professor," I say now in my normal voice.
"Lucas Watson? You are Aeon??" A girl standing beside the Professor exclaims aloud.
"This is another one of my students, Jean Grey," Professor Xavier introduces her to us.
"Hi, Aeon—I mean, L-Lucas!" She says, looking at my face with a shy smile.