winds of change ~ wolverine

one

"Girl, are you going to that lecture?"

"Which one?" Her voice muffled from her face being shoved into her backpack-pillow.

I grappled my phone groggily from my pocket to check the timetable. "Uh... Algorithms and Data Structures. It starts in five minutes and it's a ten minute walk." My hand slumped back to the grass and I let my eyes close to block out the blinding sun.

A groan of untold proportions was my answer. I smiled and laughed breathily. "We skipped all three of them last week, we really should..."

"Are you trying to convince me to go or do you want me to convince you not to?"

I laboriously pushed myself off my back and into a sitting position. "Stop asking me difficult questions, Andy." I lightly patted her hooded head. "Come on, what happened to being an academic weapon? What happened to locking in this semester?"

"I was being unreasonable and I see that now."

Closing my eyes and leaning back on my palms I pondered my response for a moment. "If you come with me I'll buy you a pint when it's over."

She snapped the hood off her face and pushed herself onto an elbow. "You'd do that?"

"Well yeah 'cuz  you're buying me the drink after that one."

The ground shook with a terrifying rumble. It took me a second to realize it wasn't an earthquake rocking through the city, but the shattering landing of a man onto the center of the college green. He was so close, I felt the rain of uprooted grass in his wake hitting my cheeks as he passed.

I grabbed Andy immediately, pulling her further up onto her feet as we and every other student that had just been lazing happily in the sun clambered backward. 

The man skidded horrifyingly across the grass, kicking up the earth where he landed until he slowed to a stop. Andy slapped a hand against her mouth as she realized what was happening. "Oh my god, is he fucking dead?" She gripped my forearm in a vice-like grip.

"Where did he even come from..." I murmured quietly. Just as people were beginning to inch forward again to check up on the mystery man who'd fallen from the sky, another joined him.

The newcomer descended slowly, levitating and donning a dark helmet that only left the center of his face to be seen. He landed gracefully into a light stride towards his fallen companion, not even sparing a glance for the crowd of at least a hundred and growing onlookers.

I whispered to Andy lowly. "We should get out of here."

"I am in my fuck doing that," she replied just as quietly. "you don't want to know what's going on here?" 

"Andy, I really have a bad feeling about this..."

She opened her mouth to protest again but gasped quietly and pointed at the scene. "He just fucking moved!" Her whisper was echoed by the crowd as we all watched the man who'd bulldozed into the ground stir, then somehow struggle to his feet, and stand straight to face his masked counterpart.

The masked man spoke first and I noticed for the first time the white hair peaking from beneath the helmet and the pronounced wrinkles marring what I could see of his face. "When will you ever learn, Logan?" He tutted disapprovingly, lifting a hand before him. Immediately, the other man, Logan, froze unnaturally, his arms taut at his sides and his teeth bared with strain. 

"Andy!" I urged more firmly.

She nodded shakily and started moving when I tugged her away from the scene. The instant I turned around, I was faced with the startling bright white gaze of a woman with long, snow white hair to match. I quickly moved out of the way as she and three others strode through the crowd; a man with a strange red visor over his eyes, a woman with flowing red hair, and... a strange beast-like man, completely blue. All wore a black suit with an 'X' across their chests.