ISSUE #68

Ian and Logan spent hours drinking together, talking together, and sharing their life stories. Or Logan was for the most part, while Ian just sat back and listened. Ian had even asked Logan if he could tell him anything about Laura to which Logan replied he would just have to find that out himself and that she would share it with him when she felt comfortable. Ian understood that. So, he didn't pry any further.

Eventually Night fell and it was time for Ian to return to his room. However, unlike Logan who's buzz only lasted for so long, Ian was drunk. His healing factor worked in a way that allowed him to feel the buzz but not barf. And even though he wouldn't say it, Logan was a bit miffed.

" Are you gonna be alright?" Logan asked Ian.

" Yeah.... I'll be fine. It's starting to wear down anyway." Ian told the man. He was drunk, but not so drunk that he couldn't understand what he was doing.

" Okay, I'll see you later then kid." Logan told the boy.

Ian nodded and walked away from Logan's room as the man closed the door.

" It's pretty late." Ian spoke. He looked out the window and saw how dark it was and knew he had spent the entire with Logan. " I've got to go see, Laura. Och, I don' even nae wha' room she's in." Ian spoke, his old accent slipping out again. " I guess I'll just go and look. Maybe she hasn't gone tae sleep yet." Ian figured.

Ian walked over to the girl's side of the dorms and began wandering the halls, that is until he ran into Cessily. She was dressed less casually than she usually was, sporting a silver top and a pair of silver skintight shorts.

" Hey, Cess." Ian said to the girl.

" Hey, Ian. Can you help me?" Cessily asked.

Ian shook his head to clear his thoughts from the thoughts invading his mind.

" Sure, what is it?" Ian asked.

" I haven't been able to find, Kevin. Do you know where he is?" Cessily asked.

" No, I haven't seen him since yesterday. Why is something wrong?" Ian asked the girl.

" No... I don't know. It's just, I haven't seen him all day. And after what happened to Laurie... I just wanted to make sure he was okay.' Cessily told the boy.

" I'm sure he's fine, Cess. I'm sure he's probably just staying to himself. How about asking Miss Frost to find him for you. I'm sure she could deliver the message that you're worried about him." Ian told the girl.

" Yeah... You're right. I'm just worried about him ya know. He's always been conscious about his powers... And he really likes Laurie a lot. I'm sure this is hard on him." Cessily explained.

" Yuir right. Hey, I haven't seen him, but I'll definitely take a look around ma self. If I find him, I'll let ye know." Ian told the girl.

" Thank you, Ian. Thank you so much." Cessily told the boy.

" Hey, Cess. Quick question." Ian spoke.

" What is it?" Cessily asked.

" Do ye know which room; Laura was put in?" Ian asked the girl.

" Oh, I think she's in Nori's old room now. Should just be further down the hall on the other end of the dorms." Cessily told the boy.

" Thank ye, Cess. And for what it's worth, I think ye look really sexy." Ian told the girl and walked away.

Cessily immediately turned beat red and stumbled along the hall.

Ian, not having seen Cessily, continued walking down the hall of girl's dorms, a hall which was once filled with young women of all ages, was now so deserted. And as hurt and angry as Ian was at the sight of the hallowed halls, what he saw Emma doing to Laura angered him far more.

" Why are you doing this?" Ian heard Laura ask.

" You know exactly why I'm doing this..." Emma told the girl. " Because you're a weapon. A cold blooded-killing machine who knows nothing but death and murder. You're a threat to every life within this school. But that's all about to change... Because one way or another, you are leaving." Emma told Laura as she walked away.

Laura began to crumble against the wall, her strong facade broken, reducing the poor girl to tears.

" FROST! HOW DARE YE!" Ian yelled.

Emma and Laura both looked back at the boy.

His face red and twisted in anger.

" What gives ye the right!" Ian demanded to know.

" Mr. Sinclair. It is past curfew, and you are to return to your room immediately." Emma told the boy.

" Tae hell with ye and yuir damned curfew." Ian cursed. What gives ye the right to say any of those things about Laura? Ye don't know her, ye haven't even tried tae get tae know her. And from what I can remember ye have no god damned right tae talk about someone being a killer, White Queen of the Hellfire club. How many graveyards have ye and yuir friends filled?" Ian asked the woman.

" I have, changed. That isn't me anymore." Emma told the boy.

" Maybe nae. But don' ye think tha' Laura has the same right tae a second chance that Scott gave ye? What makes ye any better tae judge her? Ye don't have the right, that's what." Ian told the woman.

" I can smell the whiskey on your breath young man." Emma told the boy.

" So, what?" Ian asked. " If I gave a damn about it, I wouldn't have drank it in the first place. So, bite me lady." Ian told the woman.

" It doesn't matter. This liquid courage of yours maybe working now, but I wonder if it will still work when you have detention tomorrow?" Emma asked the boy.

" Tae hell with ye and yuir detention. Laura's one of us now. She's my friend and I damn sure ain't gonna let anybody treat her like you have. If ye want to throw Laura out, then know I'm goin with her. And I doubt Logan would be tae happy about it himself. So, how about that ya schtupid prick bitch?" Ian asked the woman.

Emma's face went bloody red when Ian called her a bitch, but she quickly settled down, knowing that he was still drunk and knew not what he was saying.

" I won't continue this argument any further. There are students trying to sleep and I do not want to wake them. Just know that we will be speaking tomorrow." Emma told the boy she then turned and started to walk away, but not before making one last remark. " Be careful when sleeping with dogs, Mister Sinclair. You might catch something."

Ian flipped Emma off and stuck out his tongue.

He then turned to Laura who was bawled up against the wall still crying.

" Hey now. Easy okay, it's me. Hey, no more crying, love." Ian told the girl. He brought his hands to Laura's face and used his thumbs to gently wipe away her tears. " It's okay, now. She's gone. I'm sorry for leaving ye alone, Laura. I should have known that Frost would do something like this." Ian slipped one of his arms around Laura's back and the other underneath her legs and scooped her up into his arms. " Come on, let's get ye back tae bed."

Laura placed her hand on Ian's chest and the boy stopped in his tracks.

" Wait." Laura asked.

Ian saw how the girl's tears returned and nodded.

" Okay, we'll wait as long as ye want." Ian told the girl.

Ian stood there in the hallways, holding Laura until she had finally settled down.

" Are ye okay, love?" Ian asked the girl after a moment of silence.

" She's right." Laura spoke up.

" What?" Ian asked.

" I am all those things. You heard her, right? I am all those things." Laura said to the boy.

" So, what?" Ian asked. " So am I..." Ian said with a smile on his face. " We don't come to this place because we're good people. We come here tae find that second chance at a happy life that we were denied for being what we are Laura. Every single person in this entire institute has something they aren't proud of. Done something they aren't proud of. What Frost says doesn't matter, not tae me anyway. As long as ye try tae be better then that's enough for me. It's not gonna be easy. It never is. But the will tae keep on going forward, tae keep on fighting despite the odds stacked against us, that's what makes us who we are Laura. I probably don't have the right tae say all this tae you, Because I don't know what it is you've gone through exactly. But I do know that no matter what it is, it's in the past now, and you are here now, trying tae be better. Trying tae find a new way in life. And that's all that matters. And even if Frost and the others might see you as some kind of monster, know that I'll be right there by yuir side every step of the way. I'll be there tae push ye up when ye fall down and shield ye when ye need me tae. I'll always be there for ye, Laura. Always." Ian told the girl. He looked down at Laura and smiled as brightly as he could. And for a moment, Laura smiled as well.

" Now, come on. Let's get ye back tae bed." Ian spoke.

" Wait." Laura said stopping Ian again. " You can't go in there right now. Sooraya doesn't have her abaya on." Laura told the boy.

" I don't want tae leave ye alone, Laura." Ian told the girl.

" I'll be fine." Laura told the boy.

" Are ye, sure Laura?" Ian asked the girl.

Laura nodded and Ian placed Laura down gently.

" But thank you, Ian." Laura told the young man. She leaned up and hugged Ian tightly and Ian returned the hug.

" Don't worry about it, Laura." Ian told the girl. He rubbed her back softly and for a moment he could swear he heard her purring. Then again, he was still drunk.

After a few moments, Laura broke the hug and walked into the room, giving Ian a good sight at her toned ass through her black panties.

Ian choked and turned his head and started whistling.

" Well, I'll see ye tomorrow, Laura. Ye have a good night. And call if ye need anything." Ian told the girl.

" Thank you, Ian." Laura told the boy. She smiled at him one more time over her shoulder and closed the door.

The moment she disappeared from sight Ian grabbed his chest and felt his entire body go hot.

" What the bloody devil?" Ian asked. Ian was left breathless, struggling to find his air in the hallway. " Could she?" Ian asked himself. " I should go." Ian mumbled. Ian began stumbling away from Laura's room, with all the blood in his body rushing to two parts specifically. His brain and another area that won't be mentioned right now.

Ian walked along the halls, back towards his room, but stopped once more when he saw something strange. He spotted Sofia walking towards the stairs with a suitcase in her hands.

" Sofia." Ian called out to the girl.

Sofia turned around with tears in her eyes and looked at Ian.

" Hey, Sofia. What's going on?" Ian asked the girl.

" I'm leaving, Ian." Sofia told the boy bluntly.

" What? Yuir leaving? And ye weren't gonna say goodbye tae any of yuir teammates?" Ian asked.

" I don't know how, Ian. I can't face any of them. Not anymore. It's too painful." Sofia told the boy. " I loved my powers, and I loved being here, I loved my friends. And now, I'm no longer wanted, and it hurts... So bad. I just can't do it. I can't see them as I am. It'll only make it that much harder to leave." Sofia explained to the boy.

Ian felt his heart breaking immensely as he listened to Sofia bleed her hear out to him.

" I'm so sorry, Sofia. But... What about Julian? He loves ye. More than anything else. More than he loves himself. Yuir one of the most important ladies in his life, if not THE most important. If ye leave without saying anything to him, it'll tear Julian apart." Ian told the girl.

" He doesn't love me, Ian. You didn't hear what he said. He said we aren't one of you anymore to David. He said now that we're humans we aren't worth being loved by mutants." Sofia cried.

" He didn't mean that, Sofia. That was Julian talking out of his arse. He just wanted to hurt David and Noriko. I don't know why he thinks that way. But he does. I don't know why he does the things he does, but I do know that he cares about ye so much, Sofia. So much so that he's willing to put his life in danger tae keep ye safe.

" I'm sorry, Ian. I'm so sorry. I love him too, but I... I just can't. I have to go now, Ian. I have to." Sofia cried. " My dad's willing to take me back in now that I'm human again. He said he'd take care of me, send me to a good school and everything. Please, Ian.... Just let me go." Sofia begged.

Ian hated seeing Sofia like this. More than anything he hated seeing his friends hurting, crying, broken.

" I'll miss you, Sofia. I'll miss you so much." Ian told the girl.

Sofia nodded and the two friends hugged each other tightly.

" You have my number Sofia, if anything happens. And I mean anything, then please call me. We'll come for you... You know we will." Ian told the girl.

" I know, thank you guys so much for everything, Ian. I love you guys so much. Please tell them I love them. Tell Julian...."

" I will, Sofia. I will." Ian told the girl.

Sofia broke away and continued down the stairs.

Ian watched Sofia all the way. From her walk down the stairs to the car outside, which her butler was waiting in. He watched as Sofia bawled her eyes out as she placed her belongings in the car and drove off. Leaving Ian feeling even more empty inside than before.

But this painful day was just a warmup for the horrendous event to happen only a day later.

" Are you ready my sons?"

" Yes, Reverend Stryker." Stryker's purifiers exclaimed.

" The let's go. We have a bus to catch." Stryker told his men. The all walked out of their church wielding guns and rocket launchers, basically girded out for war and death.