"Fenris?"
At the sound of that unexpectedly familiar voice, Scott recognized who it was. Remembering Professor X's instructions before they had set out, a subtle smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"You said before that you were heading to New York. It's only been a little while, and somehow you ended up here instead. How have you been lately?"
Ororo stepped forward and gave Fenris an open, easy hug.
"Oh, not bad."
Fenris's body rapidly returned to normal before their eyes. He casually tossed a blond giant over two meters tall onto the ground.
"Wow. That form of yours is incredibly cool."
Ororo stared openly at Fenris's upper body and could not help praising him. "If Hank saw you, he'd be jealous out of his mind."
"Who's Hank?" Fenris asked, pretending not to know.
"He's one of us too. Beast."
Scott glanced at the silent Logan, then walked over to Fenris. "But because the U.S. government has been pushing the mutant registration bill lately, Hank's been busy setting up a Mutant Affairs Department to avoid the tragedy that would come with mutants being registered and controlled."
"So you probably won't be seeing him anytime soon." Scott shrugged.
"I see."
Fenris nodded.
As he spoke, he tilted his head toward Logan and Rogue. "Still, don't you want to take a look at the guy who attacked them?"
"I could've beaten him myself," Logan muttered, though his body very honestly moved closer. "I just got jumped, that's all."
"Do you know him?"
After looking the unconscious brute over for a moment, Rogue asked quietly.
"He looks... kind of familiar?"
Logan frowned at the unconscious giant. He had the strong feeling that he knew this man from somewhere, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember.
A moment later, Logan looked away with a pained expression. "I lost my memories from before. I really can't place him."
"This man is Sabretooth. He works for Magneto."
Ororo walked over from the side. "The Professor said you were in danger. This must be who he meant. Fenris is the one who saved you."
"I said it already. I can beat him."
Logan still sounded unconvinced.
"So you came here to take them with you?"
Fenris glanced at Logan.
"Yes."
Scott nodded. "The fact that Magneto sent Sabretooth this time means the lunatic has already set his sights on both of them. There'll be no end to the trouble coming after them in the future. The only place that can guarantee their safety is the school."
As he said that, Scott looked toward Rogue again.
Even though this was their first meeting, every time he looked at Logan, he felt an inexplicable irritation.
"Well..."
Rogue instinctively looked toward Fenris.
Even though she had not even known his name earlier, she felt an inexplicable trust toward him.
And Fenris had just saved her.
"They're the X-Men. They're strong, and they protect a group of weaker mutants."
After thinking it over, Fenris put in a good word for the two of them. "If you can't fight, it's probably better to go with them."
He deliberately stressed the words can't fight. As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward Logan, seemingly by accident.
"..."
"You said your name was Fenris, right?"
The veins on Logan's forehead visibly twitched. He strode up in front of Fenris, only to realize the other man was actually a little taller than he was. His momentum faltered on the spot.
"Fenris Etherreal."
Fenris remained unmoved and answered with a polite smile.
"I'll remember that... My name's Logan."
After giving a cold snort, Logan turned around, went back to his wrecked pickup, and pulled out a dog tag, which he hung around his neck.
Because Scott rubbed him the wrong way on instinct, Logan naturally walked over to stand beside Ororo instead.
Seeing that, Rogue hurried after Logan.
"And just like that, the mission's done."
Ororo was all smiles. "Thanks to Fenris, everything went smoothly."
"Take Sabretooth back with you too."
After a brief moment of thought, Fenris walked over to Sabretooth, drove a heavy blow into his head, then handed him to Scott. "There. He shouldn't be waking up anytime soon."
That single punch made Logan shiver instinctively.
"So cool," Rogue blurted out in admiration.
Scott took the large man and hoisted him over one shoulder with some difficulty. As if asking casually, he looked toward Fenris and said, "Fenris, where are you planning to go next?"
"I..."
Fenris's gaze flickered. He coughed lightly. "I'm just... wandering around nearby, I guess."
"I was stuck in that base for so long I never really got to see the world. Now that I've finally made it to Canada, I want to wander around a bit. See the scenery, try the liquor, stuff like that."
Fenris slapped his palm and decided this was a perfectly reasonable explanation.
"This kid came from New York State. You said he was originally trying to get back to New York. He probably got blown off course into Alberta by that blizzard a while back."
Logan added from the side in a flat voice, "Before you showed up, he was just about to head back to the States. But he probably couldn't make sense of the complicated maps around here and took the wrong road again, which is how he ended up here."
"Ohhh."
Scott cast a meaningful look at Fenris's weather-beaten vehicle parked in the distance.
"Heh-heh-heh."
Ororo burst out laughing on the spot.
"That was because of the blizzard!"
Fenris protested weakly.
"..."
Seeing everyone exchange looks with strange expressions on their faces, Fenris covered his face in grief and indignation, tossed out a muttered "I'm going to change," and hurried off.
Logan grinned, happily used his claws to cut a cigar, and took a deep drag. "That hits the spot."
"All right, all right. That's enough."
Scott forced his face straight. But before long, as he watched Fenris stroll slowly back over, a smile still crept onto his face.
"Fenris, why not come back to Westchester with us?"
"No..."
Fenris instinctively shook his head and was just about to refuse when Scott cut him off.
"Based on the information you gave us earlier, the Professor had a reactor built at the school."
"Hm?"
Fenris froze.
"The reactor chamber was built to the highest possible standard."
Ororo rubbed at her face, which had gone stiff from laughing too much, then added, "Aside from maintenance staff, it'll be for your use only."
"Hissss-"
Fenris's mouth started curving upward uncontrollably.
"But since construction takes time..." Scott changed tone midway through.
"Sorry."
Fenris's face changed at once. "I suddenly remembered I still have some things to do in New York."
"But the Professor also managed to get hold of a pile of nuclear waste and stored it inside a barren mountain just outside the school."
Scott finished the rest of his sentence. "Before the reactor chamber is finished, you can make do there for a while."
Aboard the Blackbird, Fenris stood beneath the boarding ramp and looked at everyone in confusion.
"Come on. Why are you all standing there?"
"You're not taking your car?"
Scott's eyelid twitched.
"Just have the client sell it. Hurry up and get on the plane. I can't wait to get back to my alma mater already."
Fenris waved a hand. "Don't get hung up on little details."
"Shameless," Logan said.
"That's called being adaptable," Rogue shot back in dissatisfaction.
"Heh-heh-heh."