Hard To Be An X-Men | Chapter 17 B

DISCLAIMER: The X-Men Series & Characters are copyrighted to Marvel Comics, and 20 Century Fox. The Charmed Series & Characters are copyrighted to Spelling Entertainment, The WB Networks, and TNT Networks. For visual purposes, the looks of the characters are based on the actors who portray them. This story in no way implies to their sexual preference. This is a complete work of fiction and does not represent anything else.

WRITER'S NOTES I hope everyone had a good holiday season. Due to personal matters, I have had to take extra time in writing. But this part of my story is by far the longest chapter yet! Due to the recent DVD and VHS releases of X-2. I have got plenty of e-mails with readers wanting movie facts written into my story. Well it wasn't easy, but I did my best. I hope everyone who wanted this enjoys. Anyway have had so much feedback and the readers make me so proud to write this story. It's fun! Well enjoy ;)

As Logan and Seth slept, Drake was busy outside studying Sabertooth's unconsignce body. There was something that was assisting Magneto and his men to travel very quickly. All Drake had to do was find it. After shifting through Sabertooth's pocket's, Drake came across a odd looking watch that was on his wrist. It was a high silver color with what looked like two clasps to stay on the wrist. It looked as if it was painted on. The device gave off a low bluish light. Drake looked for a way to get it off and then noticed the three small buttons on the left of the device. The first button was pressed by Drake and the watch seemed to melt off of Sabertooth's wrist and fall right into Drake's hand. Drake placed the object around his wrist and as if by already knowing, the device closed and locked around his wrist. Drake played with the second button. Small text came upon the screen, with each push of the button a new location showed on the screen. Drake flipped through the locations until the option "Base" appeared on the screen. Drake pressed the final button and instantly he was gone.

A couple of hours later the Jet landed in a field a few blocks away from Seth's house. Jean, Storm and Scott exited the jet and began looking for any signs of danger. As they came closer, Storm noticed the large holes in the side of the house as Jean and Scott noticed Sabertooth's body.

"You guys take care of him while I check on Seth" Scott said as Jean gave him a piercing look.

Scott walked into the house. He could tell a massive struggle went on here. There was broken items scattered all over the room. Scott made his way to Seth's room. A cold look overcame his face when he saw Logan and Seth in the same bed. Scott had no idea that Logan had even left the Mansion, let alone be at Seth's house. Logan had his arm around Seth in a protecting manner, as the two quietly slept. Scott took a seat in a nearby chair as he temper grew stronger. A few minutes later, Logan's eyes open and he saw Scott.

I needed to see the kid" Logan said as he made his way to the bathroom to splash some water on his face.

"Yea. Anyway, what happened here tonight?" Scott asked still sounding like an asshole.

"Magneto attacked. Sabertooth had Seth an inch away from death tonight. I wasn't doing so good against Magneto myself" Logan said as he walked back into the room.

"What's happened to Seth?" Jean asked as she walked into the room, Storm not far behind her.

"Something happened while he was fighting with Sabertooth. He's got a twin running around here" Logan said.

"I'll explain on the way. Let's just get back home" Logan said as he threw back the covers and picked up Seth.

When everyone was aboard, Scott and Storm started the flight sequence. Sabertooth was still out cold but this time he was restrained. Seth was still sleeping upon Logan's shoulder as the jet made it's way back to New York. Logan told of how he found Seth's house and how Drake raised holy hell on Sabertooth and Magneto. Everyone listened closely to Logan's story as the jet made it's way closer home.

"So Seth just divided into another person?" Jean asked as she assisted Storm in flying the jet.

"Yea, and the kid looks just like Seth. Except he has full black hair, and one hell of an attitude" Logan said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Great, another problem with this kid" Scott said as he looked over at Seth's sleeping body.

"The guy just disappeared from the room" replied Logan as he shot a look at Scott.

Jean started punching in security codes to open the jet hanger as Storm started to descend. Once inside, Jean lifted Sabertooth up and with the help of Scott and Storm carried him for retainment. Logan carried Seth to his room and laid him in bed. After covering Seth up, Logan walked over to the window to look out at the full moon. Memories flooded Logan's head of the night Seth has ran away deep into the woods. With nothing but a pair of sweats and tee, Seth had made his way deep into the cold and harsh forest. Logan could remember how he felt to have Seth in his arms, how it felt to protect him and keep him close to him. Why did things have to be so complicated now? Logan asked himself. Everything that had happened with Seth and Scott had just really took Logan's simple life and threw it into a spin. If only Seth knew the entire story, maybe things wouldn't be so hard and Seth and Jean would understand. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Logan got up to answer. It was Scott.

"I'm not as heartless as everyone makes me out to be" Scott replied as he took a seat.

Hundreds of miles away in an old army base stood Drake. For the last couple of hours Drake had been checking the grounds. Seeing how many guards Magneto had, where the students where being kept. Finally, after much research Drake was ready to make his move. Drake walked up to the large hanger doors of the building and placed both of his hands high in the air. Drake took a deep breath and focused on the door. Huge flames grew around Drake's hands until they couldn't get any bigger. The flames raced out to meet the doors. Instantly the hanger doors exploded being thrown back several hundred feet. Magneto's henchmen were shocked at this attack. The students who were caged yelled out in fear as the smoke settled.

Immediately two of the guards charged at Drake. One of them turning into a tiger as he ran, the other blasted away in a small beam of light. Drake threw out his hand and the tiger was slung straight into the wall leaving an impression. The other guard reappeared behind Drake and was about to strike when Drake caught his hand without turning around. Drake's eyes turned black as the guard's hand turned flame red from Drake's touch. The guard dropped to the floor howling in pain. Drake turned around and kicked the guard right in the face nearly sending him flying across the floor.

"I never said I was gonna play nice" Drake laughed out as he walked up to the large cage holding all of the students.

Drake threw back his left arm and the entire steel door flew off the cage. The students started running out of the small opening. Drake looked around the large hanger expecting more trouble any minute. As the students gathered around Drake one of them screamed out. Drake jerked around to see a young girl soaring into the air. The girl was clawing at her neck trying to get free. Drake looked harder to see the girl wearing a large necklace with several charms. Some of the students pointed up to a catwalk. Mystique, Magneto and Lady Deathstrike stood with dark smiles on their faces as Magneto brought the girl higher to his grasp.

"You look awfully familiar, but I don't think I know you" Magneto said with a laugh.

"I'm Drake, and I shall be your pain in the ass this evening" Drake said as he sent flames hurling towards the bottom of the catwalk.

Magneto lost control and the young girl started to drop towards the ground. Drake shimmered underneath the girl catching her instantly. Once she was safe, Drake ripped the necklace off tossing it to the floor.

"If any of you fucks have metal on you better take it off, or we're gonna be here for awhile" said Drake in a fierce tone as he looked up at Magneto and the others.

With excellent grace, Mystique drove off the catwalk landing right on top of Drake. Immediately the two went down to the floor. Mystique started punching and clawing, as Drake wrapped his arms around her blue body. Drake clocked Mystique in the forehead as he connected the watch around her wrist. With a few clicks of a button, Mystique vanished into thin air. Drake got off the floor and dusted off his leather trench.

"I don't believe you know who your messing with boy" Magneto said anger mixing with his voice.

Drake reappeared on the catwalk. This time Drake moved faster then ever. First, he managed to grab both of the telaport watches from Deathstrike and Magneto. Drake dropped to the ground and placing both of his hands on Magneto and Lady Deathstrike sent them flying back into another room. Drake jumped up to the entrance of the door and pulled it shut. Flames chased from Drake's hand to the door latch. Within a few minutes the entire door was melted shut. Drake jumped off the catwalk landing right in front of the students. With a final movement of the hand, Drake wiped all the sweat from his face.

"No. But I have something better" Drake replied as he grabbed one of the girl's hands.

Drake pulled one of the telaport watches from his pocket and placed it around the young girl's wrist. With the push of a button the girl was gone. Some of the students gasped as they saw this. Drake put another watch on a young boy and pushed the button. Instantly the boy vanished. Drake grabbed two students hands and shimmered away to the mansion. The students and Drake reappeared in the lobby. Storm and Jean came rushing down the staircase to meet the children. The two women eyed Drake as he winked and disappeared again. A few moments later Drake returned with even more students. Leaving them with Storm and Jean, he shimmered off again. Drake shimmered into the hanger. Only a few more students were left. The remaining students grabbed Drake's hands and were ready to go when the melted door flew off it's hinges falling towards Drake and the others. Quickly, Drake closed his eyes and they shimmered away near inches away from the impact of the falling door. They finally appeared in the lobby out from harm's way. By now, other X-Men had gathered around checking the students for any signs of harm. Drake walked over to a bare spot in the lobby and looked around at everyone. The students and the other X-Men looked back. No one knew who Drake was or why he helped save all of the students. Drake could feel the shift of emotion towards him. Some of it was fear, some of it was gratitude. Some of it was anger. Drake couldn't place all of these emotions, they were overpowering him. This was something Drake wasn't used to. All of a sudden Drake fell out into the floor. Rooms away, while Scott and Logan attempted to talk. Seth sprang forward waking instantly.

Logan and Scott followed as Seth ran down the hall. As Seth grew closer, he could hear the mixed voices growing louder. Jean checked Drake's pulse, there was nothing. Seth came running down the stairs stopping at Drake's body. A wave of voices moved across the room as people saw Seth and Drake. Seth gasped when he saw Drake. Logan and Scott walked up behind Seth, Logan placing his hand on Seth's shoulder.

"Drake" Seth said in a voice so low that only Logan's keen hearing could pick up.

"I know exactly who he is" Seth replied in a cold voice that sent shivers down everyone's spine.

No one was expecting what happened next. With the rise of a hand, Drake was sent hurling through the staircase. Seth ran up the stairs to continue his fight with Drake. But little did Seth know, Drake had reawaken. As soon as Seth touched the top step, Drake sent massive amounts of fire knocking Seth right back down. Storm and the other X-Men rushed to get the students away from harm as Seth sent even more flames back at Drake. Logan ran up and grabbed Seth from behind to stop any further attacks. Jean projected a energy wall to block out any further flames as Logan fought to restrain Seth.

"He's dangerous! He hurt those people, he killed two of them!" Seth screamed out as tears started to run down his face.

Everyone looked up at Drake. Was Drake a killer? Could he be much darker then he said he was? No one knew the answer. Before anyone could confront Drake he had already shimmered away. An hour passed and everyone had seemed to had made their way to the Professor's office yet again. Countless hours of discussion and debate had gone on in this very room, and now another discussion would take place. Seth sat on the couch farthest from the Professor's desk. Logan joined him, Seth knew this was Logan's way of showing that he cared. Even if Logan wasn't one for much affection. Storm, Jean and Scott waited silently for Seth to begin. Although, Seth didn't want to divulge any details of what had happened so many years ago. This was something private, something he didn't want to share. He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. Weather Seth liked it or not, they needed to know.

"A few years ago something awful happened to me" Seth began then stopping to clear his throat.

"I was attacked. For being a mutant and other things. When I passed out, I guess Drake had enough energy to project himself out of me. He attacked everyone, he did some horible things. Five people had to be sent to the hospital, two of them died" Seth said as he wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve.

"That's not the point! It's hard enough to control my power without another part of me running off and hurting people. I'm not a killer" Seth said as he placed his head in his palms.

Logan sighed as he thought of what Seth had just said. He wasn't a killer, Seth was so young, so vital to the world. He was only eighteen years old, and to have the power to take a human life. Logan was starting to realize, Seth had a right to be emotional. Logan rubbed Seth on the back but Seth didn't move. It was like he was frozen, head still in his hands.

"It's alright Logan. I simply stopped Seth so we can speak" said Professor Xaiver.

"The only answer I can receive is that Seth is powerful enough that another personality has taken life" replied the Professor.

"I remember that from college. When one undergoes a traumatic event, sometimes the mind reacts by creating another personality. Someone who can face the trauma" Scott said as he entered deep thought.

"That's a good approach Scott. Since Seth has a normal range of telepathy, due to the fact that all Pryo-kinitics usually do. This Drake character has used that to his advantage and simply created a visual for himself" said Professor Xavier as he rubbed his temples.

"But if Drake is loose, how can we stop him? Surely anything we do to him will have the same effects on Seth?" Storm asked as she started to pace the room.

"I shall need time to devise a plan of attack Storm. Whatever we may do to Drake can perhaps hurt Seth as well. This is a problem" replied Xavier.

"Keep him active. Drake gets all of his strength and powers from Seth, perhaps if Seth is active and uses his gifts as well, Drake shall weaken" Professor Xavier replied.

Suddenly Seth started moving again. He had stopped crying but he still felt horrible. Jean and the others left the room as the Professor started to toil with some paperwork. By doing this, the Professor felt it would allow Seth to feel better about the moment. Better not to have to face everyone. Logan got up and grabbed Seth to his feet. Right away, Logan decided to keep Seth active. So Logan took Seth to his favorite spot, on the rooftop late at night. Once they were there, Seth took refuge on the large stone bench. Logan kept silent as Seth seemed to drift away in his thoughts. After a few minutes, Logan placed his hand on Seth's knee and released a breath that he seemed to be holding for ages.

In another part of the mansion Scott walked into his room. After kicking off his shoes, Scott reached for a pair of shades that were more comfortable. Once he had changed he moved over to his computer and sat down. After realizing it wasn't on, Scott bent over to click the switch. As he did this, a pair of black boots appeared. Scott jerked up instantly hitting his head on the end of his desk.

"Just to talk, something none of you fucks know how to do" Drake replied as he crossed his legs.

"Everything. Let's start on your attitude with Seth" Drake said, this time putting his boots on Scott's desk.

"You don't know the full story so stay out of it. Don't you have someone to kill?" Scott said turning over allowing his back to face Drake.

"Scott was lifted instantly from bed and slammed against the wall. Scott reached for his glasses, but Drake flicked his wrist and Scott's arms and legs became glued to the wall. Scott started to struggle but he was having no luck. Drake moved closer to Scott until he was mere inches away from Scott's face. Drake rose off the ground becoming level with Scott. Several seconds ticked by as Scott continued to get free. Outside of his room, Jean made her way down the long hallway. Files and several folders in her arms, Jean came to Scott's room and prepared to knock when she stopped. She could sense something different, something off. Slowly Jean turned the knob to Scott's room and peered inside.

"I'm gonna degrade you just like you did us" Drake said as he placed his hands on the temples of Scott's head.

Jean gasped at the events before her. Fear gripped her and left her frozen. All she could do was stare in shock. Drake's eyelids started to flutter as he explored Scott's mind. Suddenly, Drake jerked back. He started laughing uncontrollably. Jean's eyes widened at Drake's reaction. Finally, when Drake stopped laughing he took a seat on the ground indian style and slowly rose in the air. As if to float around the room. After a few minutes of thought, Drake finally spoke.

"I was going to mess with your head a bit, but it went a totally different direction" Drake replied.

"He has the ability, just not enough control to use it. But I do" Drake said as flames sprung from the palm of his hand.

"Anyway. Let's move on to you. Stop me if I strike a cord" Drake said with a smirk.

"You lost the one person you really loved about a year or so ago. The mighty Cyclops became hardened and cold. You and Wolvie got close. A little too close. Then she came back. Dropped out of the sky, Jean was back!" Drake said in a dramatic voice.

Even with the glasses on, Drake could feel the cold look that Scott had on his face. Jean listened even more carefully as Drake kept talking.

"Well I must be really warm. So allow me to continue. So you made sex your comfort, finally you and Logan became so close that you both were the only thing you two had. But Seth came into the picture and messed everything up. So you give him a hard time, try to push him over the edge. Even try to sleep with him to make him bad in Logan's eyes. All because your too afraid to go back to the one person you truly love, because maybe she will vanish again and this time she might not come back" Drake said in a assertive tone.

"I don't want to loose her again. She left and she was all I had" Scott said almost on the edge of tears.

"But Jean is back now, and your only hurting her and yourself" Drake said this time trying to reason with Scott.

"I'm afraid to loose her again. I don't think I could survive" Scott said choking on sobs.

Drake moved his wrist and Scott fell on the bed. This time Scott was full on crying. Drake's eyes returned to their normal almond brown as he watched Scott let out almost a year of fear and anger. Tears ran down Jean's face as she had listened to Scott's confession. At first Jean had thought that simply her and Scott and drifted away. That Scott obsessed over Logan more then his love for her. But now it all made sense, Scott was just too afraid. He had loved Jean ever since he had first met her as a young boy blindfolded and scared so many years ago. What had started as a plot for revenge turned into a solution to end so much pain. Drake shimmered away as Scott slowly fell silent.

Seth sat alone on the rooftop. Logan had vanished on a walk leaving Seth to his thoughts. Drake came out form the shadows to take a seat beside Seth. With a half-hearted look, Seth sighed and kept his head low. Drake placed his hand on the back of his head quietly debating what to say. Drake knew he was a key part of Seth and he didn't want to hurt him. Finally after revising what to say over and over in his head, Drake spoke. But what he said, wasn't the way he wanted to say it.

Damn it Seth, stop acting like a wimp. Your stronger then this. I know it. Right now Jean is more of a man then you are" Drake said firmly.

"Seth, I know Logan hurt us. But there was something deeper there. He loves us, maybe not the way we are seeking, but the love is there. You need to stop being hurt by him and open up more for him. If you do, He'll open up for you too" Drake said hoping Seth would now face him.

"No shit. He loves you, and you love him. I'll let him explain the rest. Your already getting better. Thank god!" Drake said with a smirk.

Elsewhere, Jean had placed the files beside her and with her knees up to chest thought of everything Drake and Scott had said. Jean thought of long ago when Scott had came to the mansion. He was a young boy, so afraid and so powerful. Literally blind due to his gift. Scott had blindfolded his eyes in thick cloth to keep the powerful beams out. Jean was such a young girl then as well. As soon as the Professor introduced her to Scott, she had instantly fell for him. Scott and Jean's love did nothing but grow as time passed. Then the events of a year ago came into her head. She and the other X-men were on a mission and Jean had been possessed with the lifeform called "The Phoenix." A powerful creature that could destroy planets with hardly any effort. On this mission, the entire team was in grave danger. Jean used the powers of The Phoenix to get everyone to safety. But at the cost of herself. The memories were vague much after that, all she could remember was being found and slowly coming back to her old self. That's why Jean was engrossed in so much paperwork and books. Trying to find more information on The Phoenix. Slowly Jean got up and entered Scott's room. Where he was in deep thought staring at the ceiling. Scott turned over seeing Jean. Instantly he sprung from the bed. Both caught each other in a tight embrace kissing and holding each other.

As Jean and Scott put a year of pain away, they were interrupted by a loud explosion. The couple jerked their heads toward the ceiling. Immediately, they rushed out of the room running towards the stairs. Storm was quick behind them as well as Logan who came from nowhere. As soon as they made it to the entrance to the rooftop, Jean pushed the door but it wouldn't budge. After closer inspection, the door had seemed to be impacted and crushed shut. Logan's claws shot up from his hand ready to rip the door open. Scott motioned for everyone to get back and fired a large beam instantly sending the door flying across the rooftop. Everyone was shocked to see the condition of the rooftop. Smoke was settling as Logan and the others made their way across the broken tiles and cracked, chared walls. As they made their way onward, they found Seth. There he was crouched down with one hand flat on the broken tiles.

Seth looked up at everyone. His eyes flashed bright yellow before returning to their normal almond brown. With no effort, Seth got up and walked towards the others with a slight smile on his face. Seth looked so much more better now. His olive complexion seemed to be brighter and clearer as well as his eyes. Seth's mixture of red and black hair seemed more darker and perfected. Seth brought his fist to his hands and pushed down. The sound of knuckles cracking echoed off the walls.

Logan cocked an eyebrow and smirked. This made him feel so much better to see Seth back to his old self. The Seth who loved him and liked to sleep tightly together. The old Seth who liked to ride with Logan on his bike late at night with only light from the moon shining down. Logan couldn't help but smile.

Seth walked down the stairs and vanished. Slowly, everyone started to leave the rooftop except Logan. A fine smile traced across his lips as he looked out across the countryside from so high up. Once everyone was gone, Seth shimmered right in front of Logan and with a look of wonder pulled Logan close locking him in a passionate kiss. The kiss was everything Seth had imagined it to be. It was warm and seductive, but at the same time laced with a tone of complete seriousness. Once the kiss was over, Seth looked in Logan's eyes. Seth's brown eyes turned bright yellow and Seth allowed a line of fine, white smoke to escape his lips.

"Yea. Now we need to talk" Seth replied, and with that he grabbed Logan and shimmered to Logan's room.

"Well I was hoping you would kiss me first" Seth replied as he took a seat by the window.

Logan cocked a grin at Seth's remark. Even though the two had just shared a kiss hotter then any flames Seth could produce, Logan felt that they weren't out of the woods yet. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, Logan sat down and waited for Seth to speak.

I love you Logan. Your someone I have truly fallen for. But I need to know if the feeling is mutual" Seth said still looking out the window.

"Hey, listen kid. I do care about you but I just had a moment of weakness" Logan said before Seth cut him off.

"I know the whole deal with Jean and Scott. But how do I know it won't happen again. How do I know if you really love me or is it just caring?" Seth said looking at Logan.

"I didn't want to at first. I had never let anyone ever get close enough to me. But I do love you" Logan replied as he walked up and pulled Seth's back to his chest.

Well I'd glad that's over with" Seth said as he leaned against Logan's warm body.

Logan held Seth close as he started to kiss his neck. Seth wrapped his arms over Logan's as Logan softly bit the soft skin of Seth's neck. Logan's hands started exploring Seth's body as light moans escaped Seth's lips. Then out from nowhere, images of Seth's attack flooded his brain. Even moments from Scott's attack overflowed. Seth started to tremble, his pupils turned dark yellow as he fell to his knees.