Chance Encounter - Wolverine/X-Men Fanfic

Chapter 17: You just need an ass kickin'. It'll set your head straight

What the hell did the kid want? Some long sob story bonding session? He wasn't gonna get it. Logan leaned forward and growled, "It ain't magic, kid. You deal as best you can. That's it."

"I'd say your case is quite a bit more extreme than most." Scott snapped. Logan could tell that the boy was getting irritated, but didn't want to let it go.

"We all got our shit sandwiches to eat, Scott. After awhile, you either start trainin' yourself to start likin' shit or you buckle and break. 's the way it is."

Scott stiffened and replied, "Great outlook. You should write a book."

Logan laughed and crossed his arms, knowing how to help the kid now.

"You just need an ass kickin'. It'll set your head straight."

"And you think you're the man to do it?" Scott replied, his tone cold.

Logan grinned and growled, "I think you need yer bell rung clean and hard to clear your head out. It's a good distraction."

"Jean's right. You're psychotic." Scott stood up and started walking away.

Logan chuckled and murmured, "Yeah. She'd know."

Scott spun to face him and spat, "What would you know? You haven't been around any of us long enough to know a damned thing.

The boy advanced on him, getting angrier by the minute.

"You just decide to take off, leaving Max here – not even having the courtesy to tell her when you're coming back. Then – THEN you get yourself into a clusterfuck that you couldn't even get yourself out of. I may be a kid, mister, but at least I take a little fucking responsibility."

Logan raised an eyebrow and slid his hands back into his pockets. "Feel better now, Scooter?"

Scott stood before him, nearly quaking with rage. Oh yeah. The nickname was an easy poke.

Logan murmured, "All that anger? That fury? It's only gonna get worse unless you purge it. Boy."

Yeah, it was a cheap goading tactic, but the kid was gonna pop on somebody if he didn't try to bleed off some of the crap he was putting himself through. Besides, Logan was finding that he enjoyed baiting him.

Scott set his jaw and grated, "You want to end up in the infirmary again, fine with me."

He strode over to the elevator, jamming his thumb on the down button.

"What, outside ain't good enough?" Logan jeered. The kid was too easy.

"I can level a city block with little to no effort, and the beams would be too easily seen at night. If we're going to do this, we'll do it in a space equipped to handle it."

The elevator doors slid open and Scott walked inside.

"You coming?" he snapped, holding the doors open.

***

The two of them lay sprawled out on the asphalt of an apocalyptic looking street. The buildings around them had been totally decimated, as well as the surrounding automobiles and traffic lights. Rubble littered the streets and large gouges had been ripped out of the pavement in multiple locations.

Both were breathing heavy.

The kid was surprisingly good. At some point, they'd foregone the hand to hand and had started going almost all out on one another. It felt good to jump into combat against somebody that could hold their own against him, although Scott seemed the least likely candidate to do so. The combination of hand to hand coupled with the trick shots he was able to pull off through that damned visor were devastating, not to mention that the beams packed a hell of a punch.

Logan had to hand it to him – the boy could be a tightass prick, but he could definitely bring it.

It made him respect Scott a little more.

"Had enough?" Scott's voice was haggard, and Logan could tell that he'd completely run the kid dry. Scott would definitely feel it in the morning. The kid was covered in bruises and small cuts. Logan had tried to keep the physical damage to a minimum on him, not wanting to cause any injuries that'd take too long to heal. He'd taken what the kid had dished out, knowing that it'd be just be a momentary recovery for him.

It wasn't an equal playing field, but Logan had ended up with his own collection of cuts, gashes and bruises that were quickly healing as he looked over at the front end of a car that had been crushed flat.

Logan slowly sat up, placing his arms on his knees.

"Nah. I could still keep going. I just need a few minutes to recuperate, is all."

"Fucking hell." Scott muttered. "You're a damned machine."

Logan laughed and stood up, offering Scott a hand.

"Yeah. I'm the Energizer fucking bunny."

Scott took it and Logan hauled him up, looking up at Scott as the boy stood at his full height. The kid was at least six feet tall.

Scott paused for a moment, then said, "You may be short, but you're a mean little bastard."

Logan felt his lips pull back in the ghost of a smile.

"That headgear makes you look like an idiot."

"Fuck you." Scott snapped, turning to walk away, still breathing hard.

"You fight pretty damned good, Summers." Logan murmured.

Scott stopped and looked back at him, stunned.

"Don't let it go to your head." Logan turned away from him, walking over to a little keypad embedded in the wall.

"Thanks Logan."

Scott said it quietly enough that he probably thought that it hadn't been heard as he slipped out of the room.

Logan smiled and began working on figuring out how to program his own scenario.

MARVEL owns the copyright on their own characters, but I've fussed with and taken liberties with canon, and Max is my own creation.