Lyrissa's Sparkles II

Two months had passed since Logan had left the mansion. He was sitting at a bar counter with a stack of money, only about two hundred dollars, from winning the underground fighting ring he had been competing in that night. He had been in that bar every night that week, and was now up to seven hundred dollars. In that week he had gone from earning to support himself, to saving up for the baby.

Three things had worked together to convince him to go back. One was his love for Lyrissa and the knowledge that by leaving like that he was hurting her worse than she had been hurt in the Labs. Another was a conversation he had had with the bartender about his wife and son, and how happy he was to have such a life, although they shared a small, one bedroom trailer, because his wife and son were his life. The main deciding factor, however, was a dream he had a few nights ago, about the Garden. He had stood facing a stone wall, with one of the most terrifying images he had ever seen carved into it. Lyrissa was back in the labs, near the end of her pregnancy, surrounded by guards and lying on the ground weak and deathly in appearance. “She didn’t have hope of freedom this time,” Granny Rose said, “She gave up because she didn’t have you to hope for.”

He couldn’t imagine allowing something like that to happen to her. That dream made him realize just how much he was abandoning, and losing by leaving. And when Xavier contacted him to remind him that the door was always open, and his room was still open, his mind was made up. Now all he had to think about was getting home and finding a way to apologize to Lyrissa.

Lyrissa hadn’t sparkled since the day he left. The only things she could do to release her thoughts were write, draw, and read. She wasn’t allowed to work on her bikes because the fumes were dangerous to her pregnancy. She couldn’t train because it could hurt the baby, and Scott wouldn’t even let her through the doors. She couldn’t eat her favorite foods because the smells made her sick, and everyone was treating her as though she were made of glass. She didn’t want help, she wanted to be alone and occupy herself with things that would help take her mind off of her life, but the usual result was a drawing of Logan, or of the two of them together. Some were stressed sketches, but others looked like black and white photographs.

“Lyrissa, are you okay? You’ve been locked in there all day!” Stephen asked while knocking on her bedroom door. “I’m fine.” She answered quickly. He frowned and teleported to the other side of the door, to find her sitting on her bed, shaking while trying to calm her sobs, and clinging to her pink blanket “Binky”, which she had recently started calling “Pinky”, its actual name.

“You don’t need him.” He sighed as he hugged her, but was violently pushed away. “Yes I do!” she shouted, “I do need him! I love him, and I do need him! I don’t want our baby to grow up without a father!” she sobbed, collapsing into his arms and crying out her pain while he did his best to comfort his little sister. “I thought, he l-loved me.” She cried painfully.

That was the last straw for him before he pulled away from her. “He does!” he assured, but she wasn’t listening. “Lyrissa, he does love you. He just doesn’t know how to deal with this right now. As scared as you are over all of this, he’s worse! He has you, and this baby to be scared for. What if something goes wrong, and he loses you? I know that’s a big fear factor for him. He doesn’t know if he’s ready to deal with that.”

She only cried harder.

“But listen, unlike the shitty men who abandon the mothers of their unborn children, Logan, or Wolverine, or whatever his name is, is madly in love with you. So he won’t be happy without you. One day he is going to come back, and he’ll be begging you to forgive him.”

“You didn’t see the way he left. He was so angry.”

“He was upset, just like every other parent of unplanned children. You were upset too, but you can’t fun away from it like he can; the baby isn’t inside him… that would just be weird, and you would both have some serious explaining to do about your mutations.”

Lyrissa laughed for the first time in what felt like forever to the both of them, and for the first time in two months, her hair held some sparkle. “Don’t feel down about it, Sis, celebrate! You’re gonna be a mommy!” he smiled, and led her out of her room and down to the kitchen. It was Friday, and time for ice cream, and cartoons, or really bad movies.

Xavier had been spending a lot of time with her over the two months, even if it was only through telepathic communication. As he watched her and every other occupant of the mansion, since the girls nights had become open to both genders, he couldn’t help but to worry. She was still so fragile, and afraid, and he knew that the only person, who could return her to the way she was, wouldn’t be there for another month at least.

“Why are you crying? This isn’t even a sad part!” Kiera asked as Gambit handed Lyrissa a tissue. “Yes it is, and I don’t know why!” she answered tearfully. “It’s because she’s pregnant… pregnant women get really emotional. That’s why I told you we couldn’t watch Titanic tonight; we don’t have enough tissues in the mansion.” Jazz explained. “I’m not emotional!” Lyrissa retorted. “Hey Petit, you cryin’ while watchin’ a cartoon about talkin’ chipmunks.” Gambit pointed out. She just sighed and punched him in the arm and continued watching their show.

“Okay, we should watch A Walk to Remember!” Jazz suggested when the cartoon ended. “No!” Jubilee, Jean, Lyrissa, Scott, and Stephen replied at once. “Okay, okay, sorry.” She replied and picked up Indiana Jones. “This one?”

“You guys watch whatever you want… I think I’m gonna go to bed.” Lyrissa sighed and went to get up but Rogue caught her. “You ain’t goin’ to bed. You’ve been in there all day asleep.” She replied. “Okay fine, I won’t go to bed I’ll go to the library, or for a walk.” She sighed. “You’re not going out alone.” Scott announced. “You’re not my dad.” She retorted in a mocking tone. “But he is right, Lyrissa. It isn’t safe for you to be going out alone.” Xavier nodded. “But Professor Xavier is close enough.” Andrew smirked as she sat back down and stared blankly at the television.

“She’s not doing well, is she Professor Xavier?” Max asked late that night as Lyrissa slept on the couch leaned on Gambit’s shoulder while they sat in the library. “She’s in a complicated state right now, Max.” he sighed.

“I know. She’s heartbroken, and carrying the baby of the man whom did the breaking. How isn’t that going to complicate things? I just… do you remember when she came back from the labs, right after we all came here? When you had to rescue Kiera?”

Xavier nodded, but stayed silent.

“She was so quiet, and sad, and none of us could help her feel better. Before, before we came here, things like this just didn’t happen Professor. We had problems, but we knew how to deal with them. I knew my part, and I would do my part. Everyone was like a piece of a puzzle but not only did our puzzle gain a lot of new pieces, it was like putting them together on uneven ground; the pieces just didn’t fit together properly anymore.

“We are having the same problem again. We finally put together our puzzle again, but now someone’s kicked the table, sent the pieces falling to the floor, and poured more pieces on top of them for us to sort out and put together again. We all want to help, but now we can’t. And even you and the X-Men are unsure of what to do because your puzzle’s been all mixed up too this time.”

“That is a very mature way of looking at the situation.”

“You grow up fast when you grow up like we did. Sure we’re immature and we goof off a lot, but when it comes down to it… none of us are really kids anymore. Especially now.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Okay, Jamie and Allie didn’t really know what Wolverine and Sparkles were doing, and they don’t know much about babies, but watch them when something really happens. We’ve seen people attack and beat our friends nearly to death, our families have abandoned us, we’ve been raided by the military, fought beside and against advanced mutants in full blown, actual battle, and seen our leader be taken, abused, and brought home hardly alive. We have been called out, and hurt simply because we are different, and forced to see the cruelty of the world and the people in it.

“When something bad happens, we all lose our child-like behavior, and fall into our ranks. Right now that is what we’re trying to do but can’t though. Our ranks are messed around.”

“How so?” as Max explained everything on his mind, Xavier was surprised by just how mature he could be, when moments before their conversation he was fighting with Scott over a bra.

“Granny Rose is always talking to you like you’re messing everything up. Like she’s challenging you. Lyrissa listens to her, which means she’s in charge of her, but so are you, so we don’t know whom to follow. Stephen bosses Lyrissa, and she does what he says… really right now, everyone bosses Lyrissa, and she does what they say. She doesn’t think like Sparkles anymore. It’s kind of scary while being confusing all at the same time.”

“She is afraid he will never return, and she will have to raise this child without him.”

“No, she’s afraid he won’t come back, and she will have to live forever without him.”

“That too, Max, that too.” Xavier sighed. Max nodded sadly and went up to bed.

Lyrissa spent most of the next day with Jazz and Jubilee taking Allie and Jamie to the park. She really didn’t want to go, and see the happy families all together, smiling and laughing like the world was a perfect place filled with happily ever after. However her choices were that, or deal with Scott and the parenting books he had found in the library and Gambit fussing over every little thing she did. While Stephen Eliza argued over her best treatment, and Granny Rose lectured Xavier while the kids all did everything in their confused power to cheer her up, and make sure she’s taken care of as well, and the other X-Men made her life just as… easy. Andrew didn’t do anything, because the last time he tried to help her she snapped on him.

“Have you thought about any names yet?” Jazz asked as they watched Jamie and Allie wrestle in the sandbox. “I really think I like Logan.” She answered. “I like that too.” Jubilee nodded.

“Jamie! We do not throw sand!” Jazz yelled suddenly as Allie took a handful to the face. “Apologize.” Lyrissa ordered sharply. He hung his head and did as he was told, and everything continued as if it didn’t happen, since Allie didn’t care much because she was still having fun.

“How much do you think it’ll change?” Jubilee asked as they raced through the playground. “What do you mean?” Lyrissa questioned. “Having a baby in the mansion. I mean when you all came here everything changed, but is one more kid going to make a difference?” she explained. “Jubilee, this is a baby we’re talking about! Of course it’s gonna change!” Jazz beamed. “Things will change, but I don’t know how much.” Lyrissa sighed almost blankly.

“If he comes back, are you still naming the baby Logan?” Jazz asked, changing the subject accidentally. “I don’t know… I don’t know if he is coming back.” She sighed sadly. Jubilee put her hand on her shoulder as a tear fell from Lyrissa’s eye to the ground.

“Oh god!” Jazz screamed suddenly, and jumped and ran from their bench onto the playground. Lyrissa and Jazz looked up to flushed as Jamie’s orange blur came to a stop in front of a man wearing a cap with “FOH” printed on it, pointing a handgun at his head.

Lyrissa instantly teleported to stand between Jamie, and the gun. “Another one! We don’t want you freaks around our kids!” he shouted venomously. “Incase you haven’t noticed, they’re kids too!” She snapped, gesturing to Jamie and Allie who were both hiding behind her as another man wearing the same hat stomped over. “And none of you deserve to be here!” he yelled.

Jazz and Jubilee went to help but were stopped by a second gun, which was now at the back of Allie’s head. “What if we just leave?” Jubilee asked, hoping to get away before anyone got hurt, but it was too late; Lyrissa had already used her powers to take the first man’s gun.

As soon as the gun left his hand he pulled a knife and went at her. “Stop!” Jazz shrieked as he thrust the knife at her stomach. “She’s pregnant!” Jubilee shouted, terrified for both her friend, and her friend’s unborn child. “All the more reason to end it before another one of you freaks starts takin’ up room for the rest of us!” the second man spat, now pressing his gun to the back of Lyrissa’s head.

She couldn’t teleport because she was too afraid to think. Tears began streaming down her face as she started begging for her life, for the sake of her baby. Not only did she love the being inside her more than anything she had ever experienced before, it was all she had left of Logan, and for that she only loved it more.

“ENOUGH!” A woman yelled as she ran over to them. “Stay out of this!” he spat, “This mutant doesn’t deserve to breathe.”

“What’s she done? I’ve seen her at this park a hundred times, and nothing has happened, to anyone! In fact, she did first aid on my son when he almost drowned in the pond not far from here.” She explained breathlessly.

“You use your kids as an excuse for this, do they need to see their daddy commit murder? Could they live with seeing what happens when someone’s shot point blank like that?” another parent added.

“P-please, don’t,” Jazz breathed as he cocked the gun, and put his finger on the trigger. The second he pulled it though, something knocked him onto his side. “DON’T HURT SPARKLES!” Jamie screamed, kicking the man hard in the side as the shot echoed around them. The other man went at her with his knife again, but was also taken down by the orange blur. Jazz snapped out of her fearful trance and went back into survival mode, putting up a shield around the fight so that none of the other children or bystanders would be hurt. Jubilee joined in as well, tending to Lyrissa, who was on the ground having difficulty breathing.

Allie finally had enough. Jamie had been stabbed and was on the ground bleeding from his stomach, Lyrissa had passed out, and Jazz was screaming at the men in a fury unlike anything the others had seen from her. Jubilee had no idea what to do other than hold Lyrissa and try to revive her. Jubilee was trying frantically to revive Lyrissa, since that was the only thing she could think to do.

With one deep breath that filled her lungs, Allie screamed for everything to stop at a volume and pitch that shocked everyone in earshot. Her voice echoed more than the gunshot, and everything for a moment did stop.

Logan was asleep in his truck, camped out for a while to get some sleep when he heard a high-pitched scream echoing through his mind. He jolted awake, releasing his claws as reflex, before realizing that it really was coming from inside his head. Suddenly he could only see what Allie was seeing, and hear what she was hearing. Lyrissa was lying unconscious a few feet from him being held by Jubilee, Jamie was in a pool of blood paling from the extent of his injuries, and the two men Jazz was glaring at were almost proud of what they had done.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t go to Lyrissa. He could only watch as the parents of the other children at the park rallied against the two men. Some went for the two men, but many went to the aid of the suffering mutants before them. One of the fathers was an EMT and went to work to save Jamie, while a few of the women went to help Lyrissa.

Just as suddenly as the vision began though, it ended, leaving him sitting in his jeep, terrified for the life of the woman he loved, and mother of his child. In less than a minute he was driving home at his highest speed. Though it would take another few weeks to get there from where he was in Canada, he wasn’t going to stop until he saw that she was alive and well.