Lynn's POV
"Hey," Scott greeted nonchalantly as Jean promptly materialized in the round aperture.
"Am I interrupting something serious?" Jean prodded warily as she stepped in hesitantly.
"What is it, Jean?" I enquired with a kind smile.
"I've performed the X-Rays on Logan. And the Professor wants all of us at the briefing," Jean announced casually.
Scott sluggishly stood from his seat while I pivoted my joystick, swiftly driving my chair out of the ward, and followed closely behind Jean with Scott trailing along towards the meeting room where Charles and Storm had already gathered before the backlit screen pegged with a large negative illustrating the internal structure of Logan's full body, together with several close-ups and cross sections of his skull and hands.
I've missed you, beautiful, Charles teased, taking my hands and pecked my temple as I came within his reach.
You're such a flirt, Professor, I retorted bashfully, blood rushing to my cheeks in the moment of zealous sentiment.
But I've missed you too, I gladly admitted as I planted a kiss to his lips and he happily accepted his gift.
Meticulously rubbing my cool palms, Charles kept them warm in the safety of his grasp as we quietly watched Scott marching slowly into the sophisticated area. Very much unlike his mentor, Scott had all his emotions, or the lack of them, exposed on his face. His monotonous paces, matched impeccably with his bland expression, travelled with him haphazardly across the room and he unenthusiastically sat himself next to Storm on the other side of the table.
He doesn't like Logan around, does he? Charles remarked, gazing at me astutely.
You have no idea, I taunted, flashing him a perceptive smirk.
"The metal is an alloy called adamantium. Supposedly indestructible. It's been surgically grafted to his entire skeleton," Jean explained, the discrete click of her heels accenting her professional articulation as her slim figure cloaked in a full red ensemble strutted confidently along the board, gesturing to the array of black and white images.
"How could he have survived a procedure like that?" Storm investigated in a bewildered tone.
"His mutation," Charles answered with certainty.
"He has uncharted regenerative capability which enables him to heal rapidly," I elaborated and the kids looked at us strangely, clearly astounded by our knowledge of our guest.
"This also makes his age impossible to determine," Jean concurred in a solemn tone but her mind lurked with a contradicting tinge of cheekiness.
"He could very well be older than you, Professor," Jean added playfully, shooting me a mischievous smile.
I genuinely resisted my urge to giggle, yet some parts of it still spewed out unrestrained, causing Charles to glare at me with a feigned annoyed expression that immediately faltered into a wide grin the moment I kissed him an apology.
"Who did this to him?" Storm examined with a disgusted expression and Jean hung her head low towards the ground.
Crossing her arms tightly in front of her well-endowed bust, Jean bit her bottom lip agonisingly and her utterly distressed frame practically screamed of the self-reproach quickly invading her veins. Blatantly highlighting her incompetence to alleviate any of his unwarranted suffering, the blame gradually escalated into hate for the ultimate culprit who cruelly inflicted all these unnecessary torture onto a man whom with she shared a special connection.
"Experimentation on mutants. It's not unheard of," Scott scoffed rudely and Jean darted her head up, glaring at him in sheer displeasure for his regardless attitude.
"Stryker," I unveiled composedly, aiming to ease the tense atmosphere the couple inevitably created though it did not quite have the effect I predicted.
Jean cringed at the dreadful name, further upsetting the rage threatening to completely devour her partner but thankfully, neither party was willing for their rashness to jeopardise the relationship they dearly treasured and both remained rationally silent until Logan showed up out of the blue.
"Jean?" Logan sputtered and the abruptness of his speech turned all of our heads.
"Logan," Jean blurted in surprise at his sudden appearance.
"You were going to..." Logan mumbled softly, motioning his arms random circles, apparently trying to evoke something with his ambiguous statement.
"Ah yes, your room," Jean recalled jovially.
"I'm sorry. Please, excuse me," Jean murmured politely before courteously chaperoning Logan towards the elevator.
Logan shamelessly chatted up with Jean as they strolled off, obviously a spiteful behaviour targeted at provoking Scott, and their intimate interaction indeed inflamed the immense discomfort that was already burning through him.
Pure exasperation bled onto his flushed face, spelling out every gallon of fury Logan successfully elicited in him with unadulterated clarity, but Scott had surely matured over the years under the immaculate guidance of Charles who spontaneously wheeled up to him. Clenching onto his armrests, Scott mustered everything he had to help him curb his anger and contain his boiling temper until the pair drifted out of sight.
"Don't worry. She'll be alright," Charles coaxed, having a firm grip on Scott's shoulder, and Scott exhaled a long sigh, faking an indifferent smile.
"Professor, I heard from Jean that she restored some of Logan's memories years ago. Can't you just do the same?" Storm suggested in confusion and I looked towards Charles, baffled by the same curiosity.
"I've tried," Charles revealed vaguely but the undiluted regret dissipated from the his mildly quivering voice was definitely more informative than his hazy words in describing his downright disappointment for the unanticipated setback.
Hurriedly steering my chair towards Charles, I grabbed his hands, steadying the slight shiver that possibly transcended from his heart shuddering in cold defeat. I gazed encouragingly into his eyes brimming with hurt, simply wishing it would suffice to bolster that soul blistered by failure.
It's alright. What matters is that you tried, I consoled sincerely and eventually, his small yet splendid smile resurfaced.
Aren't you going to ask? Charles questioned keenly.
If you haven't noticed, I don't particularly enjoy picking on your wounds, my dear, I replied jokingly and a laugh spouted from the bottom of his heart, truly revitalizing him with joy again.
Captivated in our own daydream, it was a wonder we actually realised the youngsters staring strangely at us.
Storm still had that eager inquisitiveness glittering in her eyes, equal to the naivety of that angelic girl living in a secluded corner of her heart, while Scott's piqued expression tapered out into a duller one, facing towards us with a look plagued with the disturbance sparked by the fleeting yet unusually pessimistic mannerism of his highly respected teacher.
Charles smiled graciously at the perturbed children turned adults, straightening his posture as he prepared to address their concerns.
"When you were still in a coma, I had Jean induce Logan into a mode of artificial unconsciousness," Charles divulged, directing his guilty gaze mostly at me as he conveyed the news to all of us.
"I reached into his mind but everything I found was of his current life. Whatever Jean sieved out at the base, is what's left of his past," Charles claimed cheerlessly.
"Victor," I deduced shakily, unnerved by the devastation ingrained in Logan, and Charles nodded subtly.
"Whatever Stryker did to him, it was deep and thorough. Ruthless and horrible," Charles recounted, grimacing as if the awful scenes haunted him in ceaseless and vivid proportions.
"I'm afraid the Logan we know is too far gone, and we can only start from scratch," Charles reiterated in a grave tone and the chill air only became more severe with all of us trapped in a cycle of tireless despondency until an idea struck my mind.
"Wait, you saw what Stryker did to him?" I grilled in moderate excitement and Charles frowned at me with a fazed expression.
"Yes," Charles responded tentatively and I smiled at him in amusement.
Fascination immediately broke onto my face, generating an exhilarated grin as I stared silly at Charles. Carefully analyzing my odd influx of elation, a fire soon ignited in him, lighting up his eyes with passionate hope again, as he comprehended my intentions.
"You want to reverse engineer the wipe?" Charles concluded, sounding amazed by our conceived notion.
"I guess it's worth a shot," I affirmed and all of us looked expectantly towards Scott for his assistance with his expertise but his face was more than scornful.
"Count me out. I'm going to check on Jean," Scott rejected instantly and stubbornly stomped off.
XXXXX
Happy Friday y'all! Last installment for the week and I can't believe I'm at the 50 mark once again! Thank you everyone for staying with me and I hope you all will enjoy what I have installed! ❤
Have a lovely weekend! 😘
