Haunts

Title: Kin in Sin
Rating: Strong PG-13 for language and some uncomfortable situations.
authors: Arterybreak and Xanadu (Xmucksous)
Disclaimers: All X-Men characters are property of Marvel. Original
character(s) appear courtesy of Xanadu Mucksous.

Kin in Sin


The tunnel was stuffy and reeked of every person who had
ever taken the long walk. It was poorly ventilated so the smells
had lingered. Logan was finding it difficult to pick up on her
specific scent. The clamor of battle continued behind him, pushing
him further into the bowels of the tunnel.
Suddenly, he heard a woman's voice coming from another
path. He crept closer, careful to remain in shadows until he was a
few feet away. It was the woman from the balcony and she was
screaming at the girl. Her wiry frame visibly shook with the
exertion.

"Look what you've done! What have I told you, huh?"

With the end of every sentence, the woman struck the young girl
across the face. Logan felt the blood in his veins run cold. His
knuckles burned and his fingers began twitching but he remained
concealed. The woman grabbed a handful of the girl's hair and
slammed her head back into the wall. At the woman's feet, the
little pomeranian began dancing around and yapped incessantly.

"Look at me."

Her voice had dropped to a low hum. The girl tentatively lifted her
head. The woman ran the back of her bony hand down a hollow cheek.

"Don't you want Mommy to be happy, baby?"

The girl nodded her head rapidly. The woman smiled and pushed her
thigh between the girl's legs, thrusting lightly. Then, she grabbed
the back of her head and pulled her forward into a rough kiss.
Usually Logan would find such a site rather arousing but there was
nothing erotic about what was happening. The woman broke the kiss
and shoved the girl back into the wall, the anger was back in her
voice.

"Then next time, you listen to me! You are not here to make
friends! People hate you, people want to hurt you. Mommy is the
only one who loves you, remember baby?"

"Yes, momma."

Logan felt like he was going to be sick. What the fuck was
wrong with this woman? How could the kid think that what she was
doing was right? He gnashed his teeth and slowly rose from his
hiding place. The dog growled when it smelled the strange man. The
girl heard the dog growling and turned her head to see why. The
instant her gaze fell on Logan, her eyes grew wide. The woman
followed her eyeline and saw Logan coming at them. Her lips twisted
into a snarl and she released her grip on the girl to face him.

"You!"

There was a dull glint and then a knife suddenly appeared in the
woman's hand. Logan off-handedly wondered where she had been hiding
it, the blade looked to be wider than she was. A sadistic glare
flashed in her eyes and she made like she was going to go for
Logan. Logan unsheathed his claws and stood ready for her attack.
Suddenly, she grabbed the girl and without hesitation, plunged the
blade into her stomach. The kid's eyes and mouth opened wide in
shock and pain. A barbarous smile was plastered on the woman's face.

"She's mine, you hear? And if I can't have her, no one can."

She stabbed the girl again.

"Mo-mma?..."

The kid gurgled and grabbed the arm that was wound around her
throat.

"Shhh, honey. This is what's best. No one is going to take
you away from Mommy."

The woman then began shanking the girl repeatedly. The girl
squeaked in pain and let herself be dragged further into the
darkness. A roar of fury erupted from Logan's chest and he rushed
toward the pair. The woman pushed the girl into Logan, who
instinctively sheathed his claws and caught her. The woman took the
opportunity to race past Logan and down the tunnel. The dog
followed closely behind it's master.

Logan sank to his knees, carefully cradling the young girl
in his arms. He felt his stomach lurch when he saw her insides
glistening through the gashes in her stomach. The girl's breathing
was rapid and short. Her voice sounded tight with pain when she
spoke.

"I tol' you...sh-she was g-gonna be m-m-mad."

Logan tried to hush her.

"Don't talk kid. Ya need t' save yer energy."

Logan tried to keep his voice calm and steady even though his heart
and mind were racing at lightning speed. Suddenly, he heard rapid
foot falls followed by a familiar southern tone.

"Wolverine, w're y' at?!"

"This way Gumbo! Hurry!"

Remy rounded the corner that Logan's voice had come from and
stopped dead in his tracks. Logan was kneeling on the ground, the
body of a person supported in his arms. Remy rushed over, his heart
pounding.

"Wha' happened?"

Remy felt the bile spike into his throat at the sight of the girl's
wounds. He quickly turned his head as his stomach flipped itself
inside out.

"We gotta fix 'er up. Gimme yer coat."

Remy threw him the trenchcoat while continuing to dry heave. Logan
ripped off a length and began winding it around the girl's stomach.
Remy felt compelled to complain about his precious jacket but knew
it was pointless. They needed to cover the girl's wounds. Logan
finished his hasty patch job and turned to Remy.

"She needs medical attention now!"

Remy nodded his head.

"Le's get her t' a hospital."

"There's no hospital here. The next nearest town is over
200 miles away in each direction, she'll die before we get 'er
there."

Remy grabbed what was left of his coat and grabbed his com-link out
of the inside pocket.

"X-Men, dis is Gambit! We have an emergency and require
immediate medical assistance! Y' have m' coordinates, please hurry!"

Logan gave Remy an odd look but nodded his head. They both turned
their attention back to the young girl in Logan's arms. Her
breathing was still shallow and her eyes were closed. There was a
long stretch of silence before Logan spoke again.

"What's the mob situation?"

Remy raised his head at the question.

"Dey been tak'n care of. Bouncer's came 'n sent 'um home."

Logan grunted.

"Ya see th' woman that ran outta here?"

Remy shook his head. Logan sighed and bit his lower lip; he was
thinking.

"Help me, Cajun. We need t' get her outta here."

Remy rose to his knees and scooted closer to Logan. He put his
hands under the girl's legs and positioned himself over her. With a
silent signal from Logan they both gently lifted her listless body.
She was heavier than Remy had anticipated; not surprising
considering her build and the fact that she was basically dead
weight. Carefully, almost painstakingly, they carried her out of
the tunnel and out a back exit that came out the back of the arena.
Once outside, they set her down and waited.

20 minutes later...

The whoosh of air from the exhausts as the X-jet landed blew
dirt in a whirlwind. Hank McCoy, resident medical professional of
the mansion flew out of the barely opened hatch and rushed over to
his patient. After a quick once over he told them to get the girl
on board.
Once on board, Hank and Jean flew into action; setting up
equipment and questioning Logan.

"How did this happen?"

"A knife."

"How long has she been like this?"

"Maybe 30 minutes."

Hank nodded while he took a blood sample. He needed to find out her
blood type so they could start a transfusion. Logan tried not to
think about how ashen the girl looked. He looked around for Remy
and found him sitting next to Ororo. He then glanced over at Jean
who threw him a shaky smile.
It was still hard to meet her eyes, because of what had
happened with Scott. After those two had called it quits, it was
Logan that they had both turned to for relief. Logan had no
problems with handling both of them. After a while, Jean had moved
on while Scott stayed. Neither Scott nor Jean had known that the
other was sleeping with the same person. Logan knew all about
keeping certain things quiet.
Logan groaned and tried not to think anymore. He found an
empty seat and flopped down. He was asleep a few seconds later.

When Logan came to again, they were landing back at the
mansion. Beast and Jean rushed to get the young woman to the
infirmary. Logan stayed inside the jet after everyone else had
left, staring into nothing and feeling even less. He was exhausted
but felt rooted to the seat. He was back at the mansion and
everything had never felt so alien, so far from home.
He had once again come to know the embrace of an empty
road. The comfort that came from being no one. Now he was back in
a prison of familiarity. Everyone knew his name but had not idea
who he was. They may as well be the strangers he saw everyday on
the road.
Then, there had been that girl. So much of his own anger
had been present in her eyes when they fought. Except when she knew
those men were coming for her. The fear. Logan sighed and set his
head in his hands, trying to forget those sad, desperate eyes.
He felt as much as smelled the presence of the person coming
onto the plane.

"What d' ya need Cajun?"

Remy stopped in the doorway of the plane.

"Ain't here fo' wha' Remy be needin'. Wha's de matter
homme?"

Logan lifted his head and dragged his eyes over to look at Remy. In
this light, the younger man looked like the worst stretch of back
road Logan had ever seen.

"Why did ya follow me, Gumbo? Didn't ya think a person
might leave 'n not wanna be found?"

Remy folded his arms in front of him and slowly began approaching
Logan. He stopped a few scant inches in front of the older man and
crouched down until their eyeline was level.

"Ans'er de question."

Logan narrowed his eyes. One of his own sentences was now being
demanded of him. He threw up his hands in frustration.

"What d'ya want from me, Gumbo? Why 'r ya so hell-bent on
figurin' me out? Didn't we already do this dance before I left here?"

Logan's harsh words didn't phase Remy's calm. He had been through
too much in the past few weeks to be affected by Logan's little
outburst. He placed his hands on the armrests at either side of
Logan and leaned in even closer; until he was no more than a
hairsbreadth distance from the other man.
It was meant to make Logan uncomfortable and it was
working. Logan felt like his skin was on fire from Remy's hard
stare. He felt the urge to avert his gaze but didn't have the
control of his muscles to do so. He was powerless to do anything
except hold the glare. When Remy finally spoke his voice was meant
for Logan's ears only; not to carry even the slightest echo in the
hollow of the jet.

"Remy know y' better den y' t'ink."

Logan let out a shuddered breath, although he had no idea why.

"What d'ya think ya know?"

He meant it to sound firm but the question had come out breathy.
Remy's mouth twitched ever so slightly, hinting at what could be a
smile. His next movement was so quick, a hummingbird would have
barely caught it. A kiss, on the cheek, so dry and faint Logan was
hardly sure if their skin had even made contact. The shock of the
action cemented Logan in his seat like a statue. Remy pushed himself
to his feet and left the jet without so much as a glance over his
shoulder.
Logan sat perfectly still, as if his lack of movement could
unravel the great mystery of what had just occuried. The only thing
that could have broken his concentration was the mental message shot
to him by the Professor.



Logan shook his head before sending a mental confirmation back to
the Professor. He could use the distraction.

In the infirmary...

"We've been able to stabilize the girl. The wounds were
quite extensive but prognosis is favorable. I believe she will make
a full recovery."

Logan nodded as Hank rambled on. Xavier put a hand up to gently
silence Hank.

"Logan, do you know the young lady's name?"

Logan shook his head.

"Didn't use a name."

"How did she come about getting the wounds?" Hank inquired.

Logan threw him a rather nasty glare.

"Not from me if that's what yer askin'?"

"Logan, please. Hank meant nothing by the question." Jean
offered.

"She got 'em from a woman she called 'Momma'."

Jean covered her mouth in shock and Hank's mouth fell agape.

"You mean to say her own mother did this to her?"

Hank sounded downright apalled and Logan didn't blame him. Jean
looked as if she wanted to chime in but couldn't get anything out.

"She called her 'Momma', I don't know if they were actually
related."

Xavier folded his hands on his lap and drew a deep breath.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, the woman was actin' kinda bi-polar. One minute she
was screamin' at the kid, the next she was practically molestin'
her 'n talkin' about how much she loved her."

Jean's face went pale and Hank turned a curious shade of green. Logan would have laughed if anything about this was remotely funny. A
look of horror made it's way across the Professor's features. Logan
gave a grim nod.
A small noise caught everyone's attention, their patient was
slowly coming to. They all made their way to the bed, careful not
to crowd the young girl. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared up
at the ceiling a split second before a scream burst forth from her
lips. She writhed around on the medic-bed in obvious pain. She
grabbed at the hoses in her arms and ripped them out, howling in
pain as she did so.
Then, her wild movement were abruptly halted. The professor
brought his chair next to her bed and spoke in a calm voice.

"Please, we are not going to hurt you. We merely wish to
help."

The girl's eyes darted all around the room, her breathing was harsh
and erratic. Xavier took a breath and tried again.

"What is your name?"

Her jaw twitched as she turned her head to look at the Professor.

"Dog. Why am I here? Where's Momma?"

"You needed medical attention. We brought you here to save
your life."

"Where's Momma?"

The question was laced with quiet venom. Logan felt like he was
going to be sick. The woman tried to kill her and the kid still
wanted to know where she was. The Professor gave Dog a kind smile.

"We're not sure." He answered truthfully. "She was not
around when we picked you up."

Dog lifted her head as far as she could. It didn't take long for
her to catch sight of Logan and the instant she did she began
spouting a series of obscenities and death threats.

"It's yer fault, ain't it? You made Momma mad at me! I'll
kill you!! You mutherFUCKER!!"

"Please, Dog. If you would calm down, we might be able to
explain everything." Xavier said softly.

His words seemed to fall on deaf ears and she continued her verbal
assault. Hank went to one of the cabinets and got out a bottle of
liquid sedative. He filled a hypodermic syringe and went back over
by the bed. When Dog saw him approaching with a needle in his hand
she went completely silent. Her eyes were wide with horror. She
began screaming and looked to be in near tears, all her focus was
centered on Hank and what he was carrying.

"No, no please! Don't, I'm sorry! NO!"

Xavier put his hand on Hank's arm to stop him. He lifted the hold
he had put on Dog and she practically flew into Jean's arms. She
hid her face against Jean's shoulder, trembling wildly with fear.
Jean looked to the Professor with a bewildered expression on her
face. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and Dog suddenly
slumped against Jean, who barely had the presence of mind to catch
her. Logan hurried over to assist Jean in lifting Dog back onto the
bed.
After that had been accomplished everyone remained frozen in
place, not quite sure of what to do next. The professor swept a
look over all of them before coolly clearing his throat.

"I believe that is quite enough drama for today. Hank and I
shall remain here to monitor the young girl-"

"Dog." Logan interjected.

Xavier sighed and nodded.

"Yes..., why doesn't everyone else get some rest? I think
you should be needing that more than anyone, Logan."

The man meerly grunted and left the infirmary. Jean followed
closely on his heels, grateful for the dismissal. Xavier pinched
the bridge of his nose and turned to Hank.

"Are you certain you are up to this Professor? You appear
tired." Hank asked, the concern evident in his voice.

Xavier forced a smile and waved his hand.

"Oh no, Hank. After that, I highly doubt sleep will come
too easily."

With that, both men moved to further their observations of the girl
sleeping soundly on a small medic-bed.