Life At A Stand-Still

Chapter 3

Lily waited for about 20 minutes, until Maddie walked through the door. Lily ran to meet her.

"So? What's the problem?" Maddie asked. Lily opened her mouth to answer, but before any sound came out of her mouth, she heard a groan coming from the living room.

Maddie looked at Lily, her eyes wide. "Lily? Who's that?" She questioned.

"So..." Lily began. "Remember how I took a walk this morning?" When Maddie nodded, she continued. "And remember Aaron and Caleb?" Maddie nodded again.

Lily took a deep breath. "Well, when I was about to turn around, I heard people fighting. So, I went to investigate. Then, when I got there, I saw the guy in there-" At this she pointed a finger in the direction of the living room- "Fighting Aaron and Caleb. Well, I didn't exactly see Caleb, but you get it. Then, the guy got knocked out, so I froze time and dragged him back here."

Maddie pinched the bridge of her nose. "So, you mean to tell me that you dragged a random person that may or may not be a killer into our house?" She asked, looking at Lily with the 'bitch please' face.

"Well, I don't think he's just some random person," Lily began. "I mean, he had knives coming out of his knuckles. And, if he was a killer, you're a mercenary and I can stop time."

"You do have a valid point." Maddie said after thinking for a minute. "And I think I might know-"

Before Maddie could finish her sentence, both the girls heard a crash coming from the living room, followed by a loud grunt.

Lily raced to the living room. When she got there, she could see the strange man getting up off the floor. He turned and looked at Lily.

"Who are you?" He asked, eying her suspiciously.

"My name is Lily." She said. "What's your's?"

"Logan." The man replied. "Where am I? Why am I here? And why shouldn't I assume you're a psychopath and kill you now?"

"OK. Well, for one, you are in my house in the woods. I found you when I was on a walk. You were knocked unconscious by the time I got to you. I dragged you back here because I believed it was better than letting you be taken. Were you attacked by a man with a strange ability and an invisible force? " Lily asked.

"Yes. How did you know that?" Logan answered, confusion written on his face.

Lily sighed and began her explanation. "You see, I'm an inventor. I invent things in my spare time. Two of those inventions were a hypnotic chip and invisibility spray. And being the naive child I was, I announced it to my 'friends' Aaron Mystery and Caleb Covert. That same night, after I went to bed, this house was broken into and the chip and spray were stolen. After that night, I never saw Aaron or Caleb again. I saw the Hypnotist and the Invisible Man. Well, I didn't really see the Invisible Man, but you know what I mean. I-I never knew they were evil."

Lily finished with a sad look on her face. Logan looked at her and his face softened.

"Look, kid, I'm sorry about your friends. But, how did you get all the money to be able to make the chip and spray? I'm sure that must have cost a fair amount." He said.

"Well, it may be hard to believe, but I am actually a famous scientist, so I get a lot of money. Also, The person looking after me-" Lily stated, before Logan broke in.

"Wait. How are you even smart enough to be a scientist? You should be in school!" He asked, completely baffled.

Lily looked at the ground, twiddling her thumbs. "I kind of have the ability to stop time." She confessed.

"Anyway! Why were you out there in the first place?" Lily asked.

Logan rubbed the back of his neck and stared at his feet. "I might have, possibly, gotten lost." He admitted quietly.

"HA! The great Wolverine, lost? Wow!" Maddie accused, walking into the room.

"Martin?" Logan questioned.

"Good to see you, Howlett." Maddie nodded, a smile still on her face.

"Wait. Maddie Martin, AKA Black Jack the mercenary, is the one looking after you?" Logan concluded.

"Yep." Lily confirmed.

At that moment, Blackberry waltzed into the living room, right over to Logan, and started rubbing against his leg.

Lily giggled. "She likes you." She said.

"I can see that." Logan grumbled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~Time Skip~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan ended up staying for a while. Maddie cooked dinner, Lily showed Logan her lab in the basement, and Blackberry followed them around for the whole night.

By the time dinner was finished, it was really dark out.

"I think you should stay here for the night." Lily said. "You know, with it being late and Aaron and Caleb being out there."

Logan looked at Lily and Maddie. "Actually," He began. "The reason I was out there today was because I was trying to find a place to stay. I kind of got kicked out of my house. I was wondering if maybe, I could stay here?" He asked.

Lily stopped time.

She walked over to Maddie, touched her, and thought UNFREEZE HER. 

Immediately, Maddie was with her.

"I think we should let him stay." They both said at the same time.

"Oh. Well, then. Looks like I didn't need to freeze time." Lily unfroze time after saying that.

"Sure." Maddie told Logan. "You can stay."