Chapter 2 - Pickin’ on girls, bub?
Logan’s face was deadly serious and he looked up to Cliff “Pickin’ on girls, bub?” his rough voice broke the already three seconds lasting silence.
Still lookin to Logan, Cliff yelled “Stay outta this, pop! Iz`s none of your business!” with what his other hand tried to punch the intruder but Logan was faster. He ducked under the fist and left go off Cliff’s other arm. When Logan rose, he kicked hard into Cliff’s stomach and the drunken guy bent trembling forward, coughing because he couldn’t breathe. Like a wet wimp, he fell on the floor.
Logan looked down to the pathetic figure at his feet.
“n next time pick one your size, will ya?” with what his severe-looking eyes went to Lance and Pete who had been gawking at the short fighting scene. The two sailors looked at each other simultaneously and left so go of the girl, running away for the sake of their bare lives.
Logan’s reaction was so fast that he was there to catch the girl’s limp body from the air before she made hard contact with the floor.
It’s hard to see someone you worked with like this. Drunk and unconscious, Logan wondered how this little “tadpole” could have undergone such a drastic change since the last time he had seen her. Back in NY, she’d been capable to fight these guys, she was tough and could take care of herself, and of others at her side. What he was holding right now in his arms what nothing but a shallow rudiment of the Europe he’d once known.
Sadly Logan shook his head and threw her body over his shoulder. He was well aware of the Whiskey-smell that covered her body.
“Hey!” The bartender, a middle-aged, well-built Chinese man yelled through the bar. He was about to pick up a knife from under the bar and to stop this maniac before he left. He’d beaten one customer unconscious, scared two others and now he wanted to get away with the girl that was the cause of all this mess. Someone would pay and he didn’t care who it would be!
“Stop!” he barked with an enormous self-esteem showing in his tone. Not even the strong Chinese accent made it appear less severe.
Logan stopped . His back turned to the angry man, he stood still. The girl moved a little on his shoulder, but she had been knocked out. No way, he’d leave her here-alone!
The bartender held up his knife “the girl has unfinished business here…” he started but was interrupted by a harsh SNIKT from the Adamantium-knives that Logan had released from between his fingers. The weapons were sharp, indestructible, and worse: they belonged to Logan! ^^
Noticing the silence from behind him, Logan turned his head to see the man that wanted to threat him a minute ago. He cocked a brow and saw that the other man, with him the entire crowd was gazing at the three gleaming knives.
The knife in the other man’s hand slowly sank. Like a card-house, Chan Lee’s composure fell together and the only thing he could do now was to leave this mutant go if he didn’t want his entire bar to be trashed in less than one.
Europe didn’t remember a god damn thing from that night, but she remembered that from there on, everything started getting better. It was Logan who introduced her to the seconds way of forgetting…. Well, not exactly forgetting. It was more like “Learning to deal with a beloved person’s loss without ruining yourself”
Logan had brought her to his house and put her onto a bed. “At least, it’s not that blob-guy from the brotherhood” he grumbled as he used to at any possible opportunity.
He sat down and started undoing Europe’s shoes. She was wearing big black combat boots that reminded him of Rogue back at the mansion, he shook his head slightly and took off Europe’s jacket which stank mostly of booze. Putting the cloth aside, his eyes fell on her face. For the first time, he really looked at it, back there in the bar he’d just thrown at her one of those ‘are you alive?’ glances, but now he had the chance to take a closer look.
Her face was half-covered with stripes of wet and sweaty hair. Logan remained looking at her for several seconds before he could get himself to lift his hand and stroke the wet hair out of Europe’s face. As he did so, on the white and pale skin several bruises appeared.
There was this black eye Cliff had given her and it was already swelling up pretty bad and her cheek was turning violet around a big red scar. “bastard must’ve been wearing a ring or som’th’n’” Europe’s bottom lip was cracked and had a red gulp in the middle. Only her nose seemed to be without any damage.
Logan grabbed the jacket and left the room to get some water and rag to cover the cold, shamble body.
After he came back, he sat down again and washed carefully the wounds clean without waking the girl. When he was done, he put the cover over her and walked to the door. Before he left, he threw one last glance over the shoulder and saw her lying there… more dead than alive.
Logan closed the door behind him, “You’re getting soft” he grumbled somehow sarcastically to himself.