Behind the Veil

A full two weeks had passed, they hunted day and night trying to find him but he seemed to have vanished into thin air. Running through long stretches of heavily wooded areas they found themselves camping out in nature once again. Although they had no proper tent, Lola would manage to always have them covered by using her powers to create a structure out of plants. It had been too long, hot on the trails of the now seemingly elusive Viktor Creed. She lied on the ground her palms face down on the earth and attempted to avoid thinking about Tony Stark. Closing her eyes she imagined his smile, his hands, his scent. A feeling of loneliness crept up on her and she opened her eyes as a sigh escaped her lips. Logan looked at her from his spot as he took a drag off his cigar.

“Something wrong kid?”

“I don‘t know, I just need to stop thinking so much,” Lola mutters putting her hand on her forehead.

“What‘s on your mind?”

“Not enough to lose sleep over,” she smiles reassuringly. They didn’t really discuss feelings or anything like that. And her closed off nature forced Logan to push away any feelings he was beginning to develop for her and focus on the rage he felt towards Viktor Creed. Logan somehow fell asleep but when he woke Lola was nowhere in sight.

Lola felt a little bad about leaving Logan but she knew where to find Sabertooth and she wasn’t out for killing him like Logan was. After everything that the Professor had done for her she owed him the opportunity to see what went wrong. She had an inkling that Franz Keller had something to do with it. The Professor was an incredible telepath and to have the work destroyed only meant that another telepath intervened. She came upon the area in which her killer hid and wasted no time to subdue him because given a chance he would indeed murder her again.

Logan finally caught up with her and immediately saw their enemy unconscious as well as tightly bound by restraints. He only arrived just in time to see that the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier was landing in the meadow. Of course Logan was a bit angry with her.

“What the fuck Lola?”

“Logan, we owe it to the Professor to take him back. I think Franz got into his head and if we killed everyone that was under his spell then you‘d be killing me as well. I‘m sorry, I know I was all for killing him, but don‘t you think that‘s a bit too easy?” Lola reasons. Deep down she wanted Viktor Creed to feel remorse and let those he hurt haunt him. She wouldn’t allow the dangerous man to stay with the students but she would have him imprisoned with S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury was more than happy to comply with her wishes.

“Then what is going to happen to him?” Logan questions.

“He‘s going to be imprisoned indefinitely, we have the structure and security to ensure he never gets out,” Nick Fury answers. Logan let out a grumble a little upset he wouldn‘t have the opportunity to take off his enemies head. Although he could understand Lola‘s reasoning, killing was too easy, Viktor Creed deserved to suffer.

“Thank you for coming Nick, I really appreciate this,” Lola states as the crew of men gathered up Sabertooth wordlessly.

“Will you be coming along with us?”

“I don‘t think so, I don‘t trust that I won‘t change my mind. Do hurry though, I‘ve subdued him with a toxin that paralyzes him but I‘m not quite sure how long it will remain in effect.”

“Of course, you did good kid,” he replies placing his hand on her shoulder. “You should consider seeing your mother, she misses you.”

“Someday,” she nods before walking back over to Logan. He didn’t say anything else merely left the pair and he wondered if Lola would ever be prepared to go home.

Logan and Lola managed to get back to the motorcycle decidedly ready to go back to society after having completed their manhunt. It was a load off and they stopped off at Emi’s apartment for a pit stop before heading back to the mansion. Emi gave Lola a disapproving look when she saw her friend covered in dirt, plants and whatever else.

“Really Lola? Are you getting into character to be Tom Hanks in Cast Away?” Emi questions.

“Yes and you best not have gotten married while I was away Helen Hunt otherwise I‘d be heartbroken and have to deliver all those packages that were stuck with me on that island,” Lola counters. Emi’s face lit up and she smiled brightly at Lola.

“Shower and clothes?”

“Yes please,” she says in relief.

The pair entered the small space and Lola headed to the bathroom to washed the weeks off her body. All the while Emi gave Logan a beer before she started to cook some food. After her shower Lola signaled for Logan to clean as well. She had on one of Emi’s dresses and she sat on Emi’s bed attempting to get her hair to cooperate to no anvil. It was too much hair to deal with and she grabbed Emi’s extra pair of hair cutting scissors from the drawer. Emi gave her friend a dubious look.

“What are you doing?”

“Cutting my hair, I‘m not a fucking mermaid or a hardcore Mormon,” Lola mutters annoyed by the long hair that grazed her bottom. Emi let out a giggle and took the scissors from her friend.

“I‘ll do it for you, how short do you want it?” Emi inquires.

“To my shoulders, I‘m not fucking around with this.”

By the time Logan came out of the shower, Emi and Lola were done cutting hair. Emi was in the kitchen and she turned to see Logan with just a pair of jeans on. Her eyes widened slightly upon seeing his exposed upper body. Lola turned to see what Emi was looking at and she was equally impressed by Logan’s build. She opted to ignore the fact he lacked a shirt and turned her attention back to the food they were cooking. Emi forced herself to do the same but she was more impressed with Lola’s restraint.

“Hey Lola I need to go to the corner store for some stuff, mind joining me?”

“Sure thing Em,” Lola answers as she tossed Logan a beer. They left the apartment and Emi turned to Lola with a broad smile whilst they walked down the stairs. A low whistle escaped her lips and she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“That man has a body,” Emi says.

“Agreed.”

“If you dig him you should pursue that shit.”

“He lost his girl not too long ago and I‘ve been in some shitty situations so I don‘t think either of us would be up for a relationship,” she replies.

“It‘s okay to say you still love Tony,” Emi states in a soft understanding tone.

“I‘m not up for admitting that to anyone, I‘m better off without having someone in my life.”

“But Lo-”

“I can‘t afford to love anymore Em, not when Franz is still out there waiting for the right moment to get me again,” she says forcefully. Emi let out a sigh, it was the saddest thing she had ever heard. To Emi for someone to deny themselves of love was like someone denying themselves of food; love was life in her eyes. It was sad because Emi wanted her friend to be happy, she had caught a glimpse of how happy Lola could be with Tony before things went south and now she caught glimpse of the woman Lola was becoming, lonely. She was now convinced she had to help Tony win Lola over.

After having a nice dinner with Emi, the pair were on their merry way back to Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. Upon their arrival they were greeted by Professor X. The Professor was very pleased with Lola’s decision to have Viktor Creed incarcerated rather than killed. It showed him good faith or rather respect for his wishes. Some of the students greeted Lola happily and hugged her glad to have their teacher back. Lola hadn’t expected that sort of reaction from the students and hugged them back feeling a bit more complete because they cared for her.

A week back at the institute she got a few questions from the students regarding her leave but she remained elusive as to what happened. Instead she merely taught her students things they needed to know. She sensed the kids needed to have some fun and she approached Professor Xavier about some possible ideas. It was nearing exams and she thought it best that the students let out some steam before taking them.

“I agree with you completely Lola but I am not quite sure about letting the students play paintball capture the flag,” he says before she could even open her mouth.

“It‘s the perfect outlet, they learn strategy, have fun, and let out some steam,” Lola argues.

“And if someone gets hurt?”

“That‘s why some of the other teachers will be supervising and be on each team to monitor as well as give instruction to the students. Those who do not wish to play won‘t have to.”

“I‘d be more than happy to supply the paintball guns and materials,” a second voice adds at the doorway. Lola turned slowly to see if the familiar voice was indeed who she thought him to be. Tony smirked with one hand in his pocket. “On the condition I‘m allowed to join the festivities.”

“I suppose this could be good for the students. They seem very stressed by their studies. You and Mr. Stark can further discuss this event.”

Lola looked at Tony with a bright smile. Admittedly she was very happy to see him even if they hadn’t spoken in a while. Quietly they walked down the halls of the institute and both seemed quite stuck in their thoughts not speaking to one another only taking in the fact they were walking together.

“I like the new hairdo,” Tony finally says.

“Thanks, I had Emi cut it since I was starting to look like an extra from Big Love,” she smiles touching the tips of her hair momentarily. Tony chuckled at the reference. “I wasn‘t expecting to see you here.”

“I figured I‘d drop by, donate some security and technology to the institute.”

“I thought you were all for us to be out in the open.”

“I did then someone pointed out how stupid that was,” Tony states.

“Sounds like a smart person,” she responds as they walked to the main room. “I have class to teach if you‘d like to sit in, sort of see what I‘ve been up to here.”

“Is that allowed?”

“Yes, Tony it‘s allowed,” Lola chuckles. Her group of students waited outside for Lola. She held a folder that contained their assignment for the day. The group ranged in age from 10 to 17 years old. The youngest of the group smiled brightly at Lola.

“Miss Lola, we‘ve thought of a name for you?”

“Did you now Holly? What is it?” she smiled at the young blonde girl.

“Nerium.”

“I think you lot are getting the hang of this botany thing. Let‘s test that, I‘ve devised a scavenger hunt of sorts. Get into groups of three and find the items on this list,” Lola states handing out the copies of her list.

“Is there a prize for the group that wins?” one of the teenagers questions.

“Everyone wins, you have knowledge,” she teases. They all let out groans and she smiled regardless. “I‘m joking, if a group finishes within forty five minutes I will grant a specialized gift to the winning group.”

Her smile did not lessen as they got into their groups and let them loose to do their assignment. Tony could tell Lola enjoyed teaching by the way she interacted with the students. When they wandered off Tony walked along with Lola on the grounds of the estate, her eyes and ears were peeled in case any of her students called for her. He realized that she felt a belonging at the institute and he admired that.

“So I can get that paint balling material to you by the weekend,” Tony says putting an order into his computerized phone.

“I thought you weren‘t an arms dealer anymore.”

“Making jokes now,” he smiles.

“Of course. So how have you been you look rested,” she continues.

“I was told to get my shit together.”

“Congrats, not an easy task.”

“Yeah how have you been managing?” Tony counters with a smile.

“Crying hysterically and looking in the mirror helps, I‘ll cry and be like whoa bitch, you look like a crazy person cut that shit out,” Lola answers.

“Wow, I thought I was the only one that did that.”

They both burst into laughter and continued to walk around. Tony had to admit the whole meeting was going really well. He thought she’d hate him, avoid talking at all costs. Lola’s eyes drifted to look at Tony and she was about to say something before one of the groups of students ran towards her.

“We got everything on the list,” the young man smiled.

“Mhmm,” Lola responds in a disapproving manner. “Thomas although I commend your ability to do transfiguration but the point of this project was to find the items not make them out of pine cones.”

“I told you she‘d know!”

“I‘m sorry Ma‘am, it‘s just that I‘m not good with this sort of thing. Maybe you could tutor me on the subject?” Thomas continues giving her puppy dog eyes.

“Go back to look for the items, the three of you are smart enough to figure this out. If you can‘t complete the task I‘ll have Logan tutor you,” Lola states. The hormone driven boys immediately went rigid, they had just wanted to have more time with their young teacher but they did not want to spend that time with Logan. They scurried off to find the items whilst Tony let out a chuckle.

“Can you blame them? If I had a teacher that looked like you at that age, I‘d do bad just to get tutored too,” Tony smiles. “You handled it pretty well, I wouldn‘t want to be left alone in a room with Mutton Chops. He seems pretty intense.”

“Logan honestly not that bad when you take the time to get to know him.”

“I‘m sure.”

“May the sardonic gods shall smile upon you,” she teases.

“Oh yeah,” he counters nudging her lightly.

“It‘s nice seeing you Tony.”

“I sensed you‘ve been getting withdrawals from the lack of my presence so I came to be an enabler.”

“How thoughtful of you Tony, it‘s almost as if you know just what to say to a gal. Keyword almost.”

“That hurt,” Tony replies putting his hand over his heart.

“If you must know, I have missed you even if you are ridiculous,” Lola admits. Tony couldn’t help but smile at her confession. He took her hand and twirled her to face him. Lola was thrown off by this action and she looked at him unsure how to react.

“Look I‘ve missed you too Shorty,” he says in a sincere manner. He noticed however that Lola seemed to flinch away from being touched. She looked down and took a deep breath. Her reaction caused him to let her go.

“Sorry, give me a moment,” she mutters holding her head feeling slightly disoriented. A shiver ran down her spine and she shook her body to sort of wiggle the feeling away. It was a common occurrence in the past week to have moments of cold running down her spine. She got the same feeling days before what happened with her father and she sort of worried what terrible thing would happen this time.

“You alright?”

“Yeah I just been getting these weird moments lately, no big deal.”

“Seems like it‘s a big deal to you.”

“Probably just nerve damage or something. It‘s fine,” Lola answers with a smile. “I‘m going to wander around, see how the kids are doing.”

“Miss Lola we‘ve finished!” a group smiles broadly at her. Each one carrying their findings. Lola looked at each discovery and gave an approving smile. Tony couldn’t help but chuckle at the little shuffle dance Lola seemed to do when her students were successful.

“Great work kids!”

“Lola do you think you could make our prize be to have a dance?” one of the teenagers inquires.

“I can manage that, but it would be after exams,” Lola answers. “I‘ll talk to the Professor. I have a few things planned for you lot so be patient.”

“Thank you!” one girl squealed as she attacked Lola with a hug. Lola was thrown off but smiled regardless and let the group off to do their own thing. Gradually the others eventually finished their task and Lola was very proud that they all managed to do what was given to them. There was a lot of gratification with teaching and she felt at home with other mutants. It was nice to give them the guidance because she hadn’t had the gift of being around other mutants growing up. As she dismissed the rest of the kids, she looked back towards Tony who had been watching how happy she looked interacting with the young mutants.

“You really like this job.”

“I do, it’s nice being able to help out. Lord knows how terrible it is to be a teenager but a teenager with a genetic mutation, you can forget it,” she states as she raised her hands up for emphasis.

“So what was Lola Novak like in high school?” Tony questions nudging her playfully.

“I didn‘t think it was particularly terrible, I think middle school was worse but in high school I was a bit of a loner up until my junior and senior year where I made friends with a great group of guys.”

“What did you do for fun with them?”

“We‘d have movie nights and eat junk food or head out to the mountain trails at night to smoke hookah,” Lola smiles remembering those were the times that were simple.

“Sounds like fun,” he comments not having times like that when he was a teenager.

“It was, so being a smart kid you pretty much skipped all those dances and right of passage events.”

“I‘d rather tinker with engines and circuit boards.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” she says giving him a bright smile. Tony was quiet for a few moments just getting used to seeing her smile again.

“So how does this Saturday sound for the whole paint ball event?”

“Sounds great, I‘m really glad you came here today Tony.”

“Me too,” Tony replies unable to resist a smile as she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. He held onto her and took in the scent of her hair. She smelt like a sweet vacation. Lola smiled to herself, being able to cherish being so close to him even if just for a little while. However she could not help have the thoughts of Franz Keller in the back of her mind. Franz Keller’s current existence was the reason she wouldn’t allow herself to get too happy for she knew that was the moment he would come back into her life and take it all away.