Taming a Beast

I woke up the next morning and, like usual, Logan was long gone. I sighed and rolled over to his side of the bed, smelling where he had laid, since his scent lingered and it calmed me down. I’m assuming he was the one who had replenished my ice package at least five times throughout the night, because the burn was a lot less painful although still frighteningly apparent. I continued to inhale his scent as it filled me up, flowing through my veins and acting as a personal drug that calmed me down.

I got up and got ready for my day, dressing in a semi-professional outfit so the kids wouldn’t think I was just slumming it because I was injured, showing a weak side of me that none of them knew and that might discourage them. After preparing myself physically, I walked down the stairs and grabbed some breakfast in the midst of the busy kitchen, then went out to the back courtyard although it was forbidden for the kids to eat food out there. I was a professor, so I was allowed to bend the rules a bit... according to me, myself, and I, at least.

I was staring out at the beautiful flowers underneath the wonderful weather thanks to Storm’s tempering, dangerously thinking about my past. Ever since I had shared my story with Logan, I literally just couldn’t stop thinking about it for one reason or another. I felt compelled to fix the broken relationship with my sister, or at least try one more time.

I felt another person standing behind me, and turned to see Xavier sitting patiently in his wheelchair, smiling at me with an understanding smile. “I could sense you were troubled when you were walking through the hallways this morning. You didn’t even say hello to me.”

I shook my head, shuddering a bit as I pulled a hand through my hair. “I’m sorry, Professor. I’ve got a bit on my mind, and I just... I can’t stop thinking about...”

“Your sister?” Xavier guessed, using his telepathy to get in my mind like he usually did. I nodded, not willing to admit it vocally because it suggest vulnerability. “We all have our weaknesses, my dear.”

“But it seems like everybody can read straight through me like a book. How come nobody can tell what Jean’s biggest weakness is? Or Storm’s? Or Logan’s?” I asked, getting a bit upset about it. “They’re all fantastic fighters, but I feel like they have a bit of an advantage because they don’t really have leverage.”

“Oh, how wrong you are,” Xavier said, clicking his tongue. “They have the same leverage you do.”

I narrowed my eyes and looked curiously at Xavier. “What are you talking about?”

“The people they love, Shiloh. Storm would do anything for Hank; Jean for Scott; and Logan for you. You should know that. There’s a rumor going around the mansion that Mr. Wolverine finally used the big l-word,” Xavier said. The way he said it made me chuckle.

“He did, but...”

“But no matter, my darling. They have leverage, and everybody knows it. The reason that you are different than them is because you are willing to share your weaknesses with anybody, but that makes you stronger. You’re more comfortable with it, more willing to admit your weak. That’s what separates you from them, and that’s what will make you a stronger fighter in the end,” Xavier said. I stared at him in awe, his philosophical words settling in my mind.

We heard footsteps approaching, and Logan came into the scene. “Hey, Shiloh, I’ve been looking for you. Morning, Professor.”

Before I could even really think of what I was saying, I spat out, “I want to visit my sister.”

Logan’s eyebrows shot up, but Xavier just allowed a smile to slip onto his face. “I will be more than willing to accompany you after your classes are finished for the day, and I will clear Logan’s schedule as well just in case we need extra... support.”

“Thank you, Xavier,” I said to him, before standing up and allowing Logan to escort me back inside. Before we stepped back inside the mansion, he stopped me outside of the entrance door and pulled me aside, giving me a serious look and taking my hands in his.

“What is bringing this on?” He asked me softly. “Did something happen?”

“No, I just...” I trailed off, squeezing my eyes tight and shaking my head, feeling uncomfortable and confused as to why I was so set on visiting my sister who had clearly displayed that she wanted nothing to do with me anymore. “I just really feel like I need to visit my sister.”

“Well,” Logan sighed, placing a hand on the side of my face, “I want you to remember that whatever your endeavor, I’m here to support you and stand behind you in case you fall. I will catch you.”

I leant up and kissed him, whispering to him, “Thank you.”

“Now let’s get you to your class. I’m pretty sure those kids don’t want to deal with another one of Gambit’s half-assed, confusing lessons in which they ultimately learn nothing,” Logan said, leading me up the staircase as I laughed at his joke. He dropped me off at my class, and the day went by slowly until the final bell finally ran at 3, releasing me to Xavier’s office, where Xavier and Logan were waiting for me.

“Shall we go?” Xavier asked me. I nodded eagerly as I took Logan’s hand and he led all of us down to the garage and we got into the car, driving to Melissa’s suburban Long Island home where she now lived with her husband and baby son, according to Xavier’s research, which was never wrong.

We pulled up to the side of the road in front of her house, and I stared up at it nervously. Logan worked on getting Xavier out of the car before we all entered the walkway and moved up to her front door. I knocked on the door, and it swung open to reveal Melissa, looking only a bit older from when I had seen her last. She stared at me, and went to close the door, but I stopped her in the nick of time.

“Please, Melissa, hear me out,” I begged her, grabbing onto her arm. She looked down at her arm, then slowly back at me, and I saw her moment of hesitation, the moment she let her guard down. I played off of it and said, “I didn’t pick this life, and what I did in the alleyway, I did in a fury to protect you. That monster that attacked us and our family that day wanted me, and I knew it. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t blame myself for mom and dad’s deaths and for our broken relationship.”

“But Shiloh shouldn’t have to blame herself,” Professor X said. I could tell my sister was transfixed by his voice, as most usually were upon first meeting him. She looked over at me, and a single tear slid down her face. Her hands, which had been gripping the doorframe, were now shaking.

“You shouldn’t, Shy,” she said, her voice wavering as well. Logan stayed quiet all this time, just standing there for support when needed. He knew when to jump in, it was like his own sixth sense. I looked at my sister, a bit surprised she was giving in, and she said, “I was eight when all of this happened. Imagine seeing your older sister do all of that, and watching your parents die. The first person you see is the first person you blame-- in this case, I blamed you. It didn’t help I went to live with Aunt Lisa and I told her about what you did, and she convinced me you are a freak. But... I believe differently now.”

“May I see him?” Xavier asked. I looked down at him quickly, then up at Melissa, who looked a bit shocked, but then she understood.

“Would’ve been nice to know that you could read minds earlier,” Melissa said, sighing as she pulled a hand through her hair like I always did when I was stressed or frazzled. “You may come in, I’ll go upstairs and bring him down.”

“Who’s ‘him’?” I asked her, but she had gone too far up the stairs by the time I asked. When she came back downstairs, she was holding a baby, maybe eight months old, who was hiccuping and giggling as she patted him on the back. She turned him so his face met mine, and his eyes shifted as did his hair.

Into my hair.

I covered my mouth and gasped, “Oh, my god.”

“I guess mutant traits are passed down through genetics, and it just skips a few children,” Melissa said, bouncing the baby up and down until he turned back to normal, giggling again as if he knew how interesting his trick was. “The first time Tommy and I saw him do it, we freaked. And then I remembered you, and how you did the same thing. And I couldn’t oust my own child, so I decided it was about time I decided I couldn’t oust my own sister who was just trying to protect me either.”

Melissa put down the baby, then put out a hand to me. “Truce?”

I grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a hug, holding her tight to me for the first time since I was about ten years old. She cried into my chest and said, “I miss them so much.”

“I miss them, too,” I whispered to her, kissing the top of her head. “But I’m here, and I will protect you from anything that comes to hurt you. They won’t die in vain.”

“I’m afraid your husband’s coming home a bit early,” Xavier said suddenly, breaking the reunion painfully short. “I’m sorry to stop this so soon, but we will be visiting again soon, but now. The time is not right for your husband to know that we exist, and to know about your sister. I will contact you when the time is right.”

“Are you telling me I am not allowed to see my sister until that time?” Melissa asked in a strained voice.

“I’m afraid so, my dear. But don’t fret, the time for a second reunion is near,” Xavier said reassuringly. Melissa looked over at me and hugged me tightly again, bringing me in tight.

“Please, be careful and don’t get yourself killed,” she whispered to me. I nodded and she hugged me again as she whispered in my ear, “And keep a careful eye on that one. Not only is he incredibly hot, but I can tell he loves you. And he’s the overprotective, sexy brooding kind of type. I’m jealous.”

I laughed and pulled away from her saying, “I’ll miss you, sis.”

“You, too,” she said tears in her eyes as she picked her baby son back up again. I kissed him on the forehead. “And I’m so sorry again. I love you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I love you, too,” I said to her, walking out the door as Logan exited behind me. Xavier was pretty far ahead of us, and Logan came up behind me, squeezing my sides.

“The overprotective, sexy brooding type?” He teased me. I turned around and pushed him in the chest.

“Don’t get too cocky, my dear,” I said to him, laughing. “She’s an outsider, she doesn’t understand.”

“Doesn’t understand what, exactly?” He asked me, his eyebrows raised as his facial expression turned immensely entertained.

I reached up and took his face in my hands, staring into his eyes. I looked down at his lips, then back into his eyes, smiling slowly as I did so. I pressed my lips to his, pulling away as I whispered, “She doesn’t understand that you’re so much more than that.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt the moment,” Xavier projected from his position by the car, “but we must move fast. Her husband’s close.”

Logan and I must’ve gotten him in the car in record time, because soon enough, we were racing back to the mansion and we passed by a boy I knew had once lived near Melissa. I smiled at the thought of her marrying some neighborhood boy-- typical Melissa, sticking to the textbook fairytale.

Logan took my hand on the console, reminding me that although Melissa was Cinderella, I had my own kind of fairytale forming. It might be twisted at times, but it was a fairytale all the same, my Prince Charming even more excellent than those who proceeded him.

And hopefully, none would have to follow him.