Logan and Angel

[x-firestar.livejournal.com]

With Easter done, Angel goes to find Logan to apologize for what happened during the fish fry. She gets an explanation of why it happened and first hand experience with the healing factor process.



Back from Easter at her parents house, Angel made her way through the mansion. It had been a good dinner--and no one had told her that her mom was going to be there so it had been a great surprise--and despite her dad groaning about how old she was, she still managed to score an Easter basket. But now she was trying to see if she could find Mr. Logan and apologize for what happened during the fish-fry. Apologize again, anyway.

Logan wasn't especially difficult to find - if one used one's nose. Following the smell of cigar would invariably lead one to Logan, who was for once sitting in his undecorated, uncustomized room. Kneeling in the middle of the floor, actually, eyes closed and legs folded beneath him.

She hesitated at the door, though he had left it open, before knocking very softly. "Mr. Logan?" Angel called, knowing that he probably already knew she was there but it was impolite to not announce one's self. Same with Kyle or the telepaths or anyone with powers that allowed for that kind of thing.

Logan opened his eyes and looked at the nervous girl in his doorway. "Angel." he said around his cigar. She smelled of heat and of young girl with a few swirled undercurrents - soap, that kind of thing. "What's on your mind, kid?"

"I just wanted to come by and, you know, apologize for Friday again," Angel explained. "Except without the flailing I did when everything went down originally. Total lack of flailing this time, I promise." It was said with an amused humor since she knew full well what a lot of her reactions could be sometimes.

Logan shrugged her apology off. "You want to make it up to me?" he asked. "Work on that spillover problem. You're getting good at lighting stuff on fire - or just warming it up - but you obviously need some work on keeping the beam path tight." he observed. "And it turns out I learned something as well. Can't remember what it was, but I know I learned something."

She nodded. "Now that I can do," Angel responded. "Working on the beam and stuff. Sometimes I forget that it's not just fire I make, but the microwaves first and then that. And, well..." She scratched the back of her head for a second. "Do you mind if I ask what exactly happened? I know you've got the metal claws, sir, but beyond that, I don't know much more. Which is why I was flailing so much, I had no idea I could have caused something like that."

This was gonna _hurt_, but she deserved to know. He held out his forearm for her to inspect for a moment. Then he popped a claw on his opposite hand and _dug it into his own flesh_. Without changing expression or his breathing, he peeled away the flesh and muscle of his forearm enough for her to look at the metal bonded to his radius and ulna. "See that?" he asked conversationally. "Adamantium. It coats every bone in my body."

Reflexively, Angel's hands clapped over her mouth and she felt her stomach heave for a second. But she didn't get sick or bolt, though she kept staring at his arm in horror, unable to look away. "Okay, um. Gah. One...didn't that hurt? And two, every bone? Totally?" Her hands dropped as she frowned, thinking about it for a second. "That's just...okay. Okay, now I see what happened. The microwaves affected the claws and then from there all the way up. Double ow." She winced a little.

Logan watched his arm for a moment as his flesh reknit, sealing the wound. "It still hurts, kid." he said. More than that she really didn't need to know. No point in giving the kid nightmares. He had them, that should be enough for everyone. "And yeah. Every bone. Including my skull, which is where I got into trouble with you."

"Oohhh, that makes sense. Microwaves hit the metal skull casing..." She scrunched up her nose. "How many times do you get to say that in your life time? And then they bounced around. Yeaaah, I think keeping the microwaves closer to me in the future is a good idea. At least I'll be able to practice here at the school."

"Good idea." he said dryly. Then he showed her his previously-ripped-open forearm to prove that the injury had healed completely with no trace. "The Harridan or Wheels himself can probably set you up something if you wanted to practice tightening up that beam." he suggested. "One of the big brains, anyway."

Angel giggled, only a little bit, at the "Wheels" nickname. "I will," she promised. "And the good thing with my dad living in New York is that even when school gets out, I can still be over here and, you know, keep working on the powers development stuff." She eyed his arm with interest, thinking about Kyle and his healing factor.

"Ever seen anyone heal before?" he asked, curious.

"Not like that," she admitted. "Little things with Kyle, like some small cuts or bruises but nothing quite so, well, big."

Logan nodded. "It's pretty rare, from what I hear, to heal as fast as I do. Only other one I know who does is Creed." he said with a grimace. He didn't like talking about Creed, even if the guy was rotting in a federal jail right then.

Angel echoed Logan's grimaced with her own. The full story wasn't one she wanted to hear but she'd heard enough from Kyle. "Does the healing hurt?" she asked, surprised that she'd never though to ask Kyle that. Then again, healing a relatively small cut from a knife and healing back, oh, the chunk of arm you took off for some show and tell...yeah, bit different.

"Of course it does." he said, surprised that someone would think that it doesn't. "If a nerve gets severed, then it stops sending pain. But the moment it heals, it starts transmitting again."

She thought about that for a second, digesting the information. "The healing power thing is awesome but, yeah, ow. Though on the other hand, if you have that then I guess you get used to the pain of the actual injury and then the pain of the stitching up thing. Which explains a lot about Kyle, actually..."

Logan couldn't help but choke out a laugh at that. "Mebbe it does." he conceded. "You'd have to ask him - I can never be sure if I'm typical or something Bill cooked up in the lab."

The last part of that was confusing but it sounded like something that maybe she didn't want to learn just yet. Instead, she grinned at Logan and said, "I think I'll go ask him now and then see if the boys are up to some football. Scientific process and all that for testing of the healing factor and bruising, yeah? Oh, and thanks, Mr. Logan for clarifying some of that for me."

Logan just grinned. "Sure thing, kid." he said, unfolding his legs and standing up. "Need a ref for the game?" he asked.