knock on wood | howlett

xvii. him

seven nation army by the white stripes

"are you hurt?" colossus asked with concern.

"no."

he watched her as she drove, still figuring the car out. she'd honestly forgot about her hands up until this point. it seemed bizarre that just five minutes ago she was caged like a bird.

"you're sure?" he asked. "i saw you climb out, hands on glass."

"i was locked up, didn't you hear?"

"i saw them taking you away. what for?"

she pulled off onto the shoulder of the back road. he opened the glove box and pulled out a safety kit. how convenient.

he motioned for her to reach her hands out. he looked at them, unharmed.

"it's a long story."

"we have time."

she took the wheel again and he popped the kit back inside. she began to drive again. "we're going to stamford, by the way. it'll be about an hour. were we talking about something?"

"you were going to tell me why you got quarantined."

"i don't think i was," she eyed him for a moment. he blushed somewhere in all the metal. she could do that to someone, even an eight foot tall russian metal man. "fine," she grumbled.

so she told him of her childhood rendezvous with logan, the child who earned her the scars on her neck, her power that sent her to charles xavier the first's office, the abduction, the surgeries, the escape, and the tests' results that quarantined her.

"it's been a rough ride," she concluded.

"you have interesting story," he nodded. they reached the highway and traveled south-bound. they listened to the radio for some time, allowing it to fill the silence.

"fifteen minutes," she stated as they took an exit off the highway. she glanced over at him. he'd conked out, asleep over her seat belt for who knows how long.

"mother of God," she muttered. he snored in his sleep, rattling the air in the truck. she turned the radio off to give him some peace. she watched the road. they were approaching the bay-side city of stamford.

when she reached the welcome sign, she decided to wake him. she nudged him a few times and when that didn't work, she started to call his name.

"colossus, wakey-wakey," she kept her eyes glued on the street. "eggs 'n' bakey."

he groggily sat up and asked, "what's this talk of eggs and bacon?"

she laughed.

"we're almost there."

"you didn't answer my question," he protested. he crossed his arms like a child.

"let's just get logan and those kids," she paused, "then we'll get you some eggs and bacon."

"good."

"keep your eyes out for anything suspicious. vacant factories, run-down barns, you know the drill."

"okay, okay." he watched out his window.

they swept the city clean for a good hour, finding absolutely nothing. then they traveled closer to the bay. that was precisely when they happened upon a steel mill that was under foreclosure.

she parked the truck. they got out and went inside the sliding door. it was empty.

colossus went over to a crawl space entry. he waved her over, handing her a gun and flashlight before opening the hatch.

they entered gingerly.