X-Men: Syren's Story IV

**Con't from X-Men: Syren's Story III**



When I came to realize that Syren was aware that Wolverine was having trouble letting Jean go, even after rumors of something between them had surfaced, I became even more concerned than before.  It must have been eating away at Syren inside; trying to struggle with her conflicting feelings of being his friend and perhaps wanting more out of their relationship.  At least, this is what I had imagined, simply because I didn’t understand the full spectrum of Syren’s nature. Syren was one of those people that could be extremely tolerant of someone’s short comings and still find a way to firmly and yet kindly let them know that a change was in order. It took me some time to realize and understand this.  Eventually I got it; Syren was just not one to judge her friends and I guess that was why she had so many.

Still, I think I may have been right that Syren was being affected by the balance she was tyring to keep with Wolverine and she just was not conscious of the stress this was causing her.  So I was even more concerned now and was convinced that this was the cause of her change in eating and drinking habits; that and the fact that Gambit was back to pursuing Syren again.

Meanwhile, Wolverine was having his own issues.  Personally, even though at the time I wasn’t in favor of their relationship, I still look back and think that he was an idiot.  Speaking from just a man’s point of view, Syren was certainly a woman to pursue; a “keeper” so to speak.  Any guy would have been lucky to have her.  And even though I seemed to constantly be annoyed with her, I still thought that way about her, which was why I thought she should have someone better than Wolverine.  So truly, I don’t know why on earth he was hesitant, but he was.

Thinking more objectively, he probably felt, well, perhaps a bit intimidated or uncertain.  He was in new territory, which was a novel situation for a man of his age and experience.  Also he really was having a hard time with his feelings for Jean.  In a way I suppose, he felt that he was betraying her.  He had pursued her for so long that it felt strange not to do so.  This created a problem for him, since he had a great amount of respect for Syren and didn’t want to cause problems for her.  So their relationship went very slow.

Syren couldn’t have behaved with more dignity.  Never questioning, never reacting to anything Wolverine did, that would have caused other woman to become very jealous.  Syren seemed very sure of herself during this time, even though she was stressed between Wolverine’s and Gambit’s advances.  Syren was confident, friendly, warm and enticing.  I even began to look at her in a better light, though I wouldn’t have admitted it then. 

This was most certainly the cause for Wolverine and Gambit to start fighting.  The two, who had finally become quite amicable after a long time of mistrust of each other, were now beginning to glare at each other again and it wasn’t unusual to hear short remarks coming from either one of them.  Wolverine knew Syren didn’t want a romantic relationship with Gambit, for Rogues sake.  Wolverine was also very aware by that point that Syren’s interests fully lay with him, though he was deliberately being cautious.  He also understood how hard it was for Syren with Gambit, since Jean had went through the same thing with himself.  But Gambit was different; he was relentless in a way much worse than Wolverine had been, because of Gambit’s personality.  It was just damn hard for any woman to resist him.  So Wolverine did not appreciate him horning in.

Gambit on the other hand felt that if Wolverine wasn’t going to lay claim to Syren, then she was fair game.  Besides, he had noticed her first; approached her first, kissed her first.  He felt he had some precedence there.  And regardless of whether he did or not, he felt that Syren had some feelings for him and just refused to entertain them.  It was his job to kindle them and her job to fight them.  And he was having just far too much fun to give it up.  There was nothing sexier than a woman trying to fight their feelings for a man.  How could he possibly ignore such an opportunity?

Plus, Gambit was restless from his inability to be with Rogue and his nature has always been the hunter, especially for the forbidden fruit.  It was more lust than love and both of them knew it even though I believe they did care for each other dearly as friends.  The surprising thing was in the beginning; Syren easily brushed him away because her interest lay with Wolverine but after awhile it was noticed that she was having difficulty doing this.

Now, Gambit always swore that he had a rule against using his charm on his fellow female teammates; that he didn’t think it was “fair” as he put it and only reserved it for his escapades outside the mansion.  However, when Syren became a challenge to him and found that not only had her interest truly turned from him, but that he also had a rival, I think it possible that Gambit broke his rule.  It was probably just too damn irresistible for him not to try.

And this is what led to Wolverine and Gambit fighting, as Wolverine would of course come and defend Syren at every possibility.  Unfortunately as the tension between him and Gambit grew, Wolverine often wondered whether he really was the one Syren should be interested in.  He never once doubted her faithfulness to him and blamed everything that happened on Gambit, but he was feeling he may be wrong for Syren.

Eventually, as these things usually do, it got out of hand.  Wolverine and Gambit were just short of coming to blows and Syren was feeling quite the same about it, often finding she would have to physically keep Gambit at a distance from her and at times would threaten him with harm if he didn’t leave her alone.  Gambit would always laugh this off and take his leave, just to return again some other time.  He just couldn’t seem to leave her alone.

Finally, a situation occurred between the three that caused the Professor to get involved.  It was the end of the year and New Years Eve was quickly approaching.  We planned a large party, inviting several guests, including some past X-men, Warren Worthington a.k.a. Angel, Bobby Drake a.k.a. Ice man and even my brother Alex, along with others.  It was going to be a huge celebration with all the trimmings, and indeed we had a great time, till things went wrong.



Everyone was busy getting ready for the New Year’s Eve gala that was to take place  The ballroom had been lavishly decorated, caterer’s had already delivered the food and drinks, Jubilee was busy preparing the sound equipment for the music and guests had already begun to arrive.  Syren and Rogue were helping each other get dressed in their new dresses they had treated themselves to.  Rogue had a stunning green wrap around dress that was perfect for her red hair and Syren had chosen a muted gold cocktail dress that made her skin glow warmly.  Both women looked stunning.

Spirits were high and the atmosphere was one of elation and excitement for the ringing in of the New Year.  It would have seemed that the food, drink and music flowed that evening in a manner worthy of the Greek gods.  Everyone was clearly enjoying themselves, Syren in particular.  She had never gone to a party like this in her life, so it was all a new experience for her.  She mingled with everyone she possibly could, laughing and talking.  She downed more drinks than she meant to, but she wasn’t alone; it was a party.

Someone requested some music from the Big Band era and soon Syren found herself dancing with someone she hardly knew, but was having blast.  Syren saw that Warren Worthington was trying his best to get Jean to Swing with him, but she wasn’t having it, so Syren offered, but was quick to warn him that she was no pro.  It didn’t matter, Warren knew what he was doing and was a good leader and the whole crowd got treated to a fun amateur dance show.

Later in the evening Etta James, At Last, was played and some of the people coupled off to dance together.  Syren was watching Rogue and Bobby Drake dancing together, thinking that they looked rather good together.  As she was watching, Wolverine came up behind her, took her and softly put his arm around her waist.  He pulled her to him and slowly started to dance with her.  Syren was so surprised; she never would have thought of Wolverine as a dancer. And true enough, as he wasn’t spinning her about the floor, but it wasn’t his intention to get some exercise with Syren, he was looking to have a moment with her.

Syren looked stunning and she couldn’t stop smiling and the longer she smiled, the more Logan was enjoying her.  Her eyes were bright, her cheeks were flushed and she felt warm.  This is how it should be, he thought; just like this moment.  Maybe they could be together; maybe this really could work out.  He should at least give it a shot, he told himself.  He owed it to himself to find out.

Rogue looked over and noticed the two dancing and smiled  and winked at Syren and then got Storms attention, who was dancing with Warren and told her to check out the girl who had tamed the beast, so to speak and Storm nodded in agreement.

As the song was coming to a close, Jubilee shouted out that it was almost time for the countdown.  Everyone gathered around and eagerly anticipated the moment when it would begin.  A large screen had been brought in to show Time Squares ball dropping as it aired and when the countdown, everyone began shouting out.  Syren and Rogue were eagerly holding each other’s hands yelling as loud as they could.

Three…two…one… Happy New Year! Streamers and balloons fell from the ceiling, everyone was yelling Happy New Year, and confetti seemed to be everywhere.  Syren was determined she was going to kiss everyone’s cheek there and began making the rounds. 

She even insisted on giving Rogue a kiss, though Rogue definitely was against her attempting anything so foolish.  Syren didn’t care; she quickly kissed Rogues cheek and luckily escaped any damaged.  But Rogue had felt it; skin to skin contact.  It touched her so much, tears welled in her eyes and she tightly embraced her friend.

Syren made sure to find the Professor to thank him and bestow the traditional New Year’s blessing and she soon found herself passing from person to person.  She even unreservedly kissed Cyclops on the cheek.  Remy was not about to be left out and planted one right on her lips, but she maneuvered herself away from him.

Auld Lang Syne was playing and everyone was embracing each other warmly, but somehow Syren had lost Wolverine in the crowd and she was then frantic to find him, as she was determined to fit in a kiss with him before the song was over.

Wolverine however had not lost sight of her.  He watched as she was whisked away by others taking their turn to wish her a Happy New Year.  He allowed himself to be wished as well and even to return the blessing.  It was a new experience for him, as Wolverine usually found himself a bar and a drink to ring in the New Year.  Wolverine was usually alone.

Not this evening though.  When he saw that Syren was trying to find him, he made his way through the crowd to her.  Syren was trying to see where Logan was, but the room, as large as it was, seemed so crowded.  She didn’t see him till he was almost upon her.  When he stepped forward, she breathed a sigh of relief; she wasn’t going to miss out.

It was her intention to kiss Logan on the cheek, just as everyone else, but as Syren neared him and warmly said, Happy New Year, Wolverine took her cheek in his hand, pulled her to him and kissed her mouth.  Syren was surprised, but happy.  Then she realized that Wolverine had not meant for it to be a quick kiss as she thought.  He lingered and his kiss grew deeper as he wrapped his arms around her more.  Syren felt her spirit soar as she realized what it was Wolverine was saying to her; I’m letting everyone know that you’re mine.

Rogue looked over and saw them, and being true to herself, brought attention to the two by giving a large whoop which caught others attention, who then saw why she was hollering and added to the noise.  Quickly, every person had taken noticed and joined in, some clapping, all seemingly to be in favor of the union. 

When Logan pulled away, he whispered Happy New Year to her.  Syren hugged his neck and returned the wish again; she couldn’t have been happier.  And when Wolverine saw this on her face, he knew he’d found what he wanted.

Auld Lang Syne had ended, but the music hadn’t.  Champagne was being passed around and most everyone was drinking their fill.  Now and again Syren danced with Rogue, Jubilee, Bobby and Storm and anyone else willing to dance.  She even danced with Remy for a short bit, wishing to let bygones be bygones.

Eventually Syren was feeling warm from all the dancing and excitement and liquor.  Soon she was so warm and lightheaded that she had to step outside to get fresh air before she hurled on the floor.  She walked through one of the large French windows in the ballroom, out onto the marble terrace below.  She went over to a marble bench and sat down, feeling that she if she didn’t she was going to pass out from the room spinning.  She had thought all the movement had been from her dancing, but she now realized her head was going round from the liquor.

She had whispered to Logan where she was going and that she would be back in a little while after she cooled off.  But Logan was not the only one that knew she left.  Gambit had been watching her and a few minutes after she went out the doors, he slipped through them also to follow her.

Remy had been watching her off and on all evening and now that he was fully liquored up, and was remembering the kiss he saw Wolverine blessed with, Remy somehow imagined that it was his turn.  If his rival was to have a kiss like that, then so should he.  It never occurred to him that what he had witnessed was the official beginning of a relationship between the two.  Had he been sober, he might not have reacted the way he did.

He found her sitting on the bench taking deep breaths.

“Chere.”  He called out to her sweetly.

Syren looked up and felt that she should instantly be on her guard, but just couldn’t seem to raise the energy to do it.

“You alright Chere? You don have a coat.  You must be freezing, eh?” Remy asked, when she didn’t respond to him.

“I just needed to get some air.  My head’s spinning and I was too warm” She answered truthfully.

“Maybe you should walk around a little, but inside somewhere.  You sit there too long and you’ll pass out.”

Somehow this made some sense to her, since she had started to feel sleepy and didn’t really want to end the night yet.  She could still hear the music and laughing coming from inside going strong.

“Yes, I guess I could go for a walk so I don’t end up falling to sleep and freezing to death.”

“Come on chere, I’ll go with you.”  Remy took her arm and led her down the terrace to an entrance past the ballroom and into one of the large hallways.  There they walked slowly down the unlit hall arm in arm, without talking.  Remy was watching her out of the corner of his eye carefully, but Syren’s mind lay else where.  She was happily thinking about earlier in the evening.  Eventually they came to one of the open sitting rooms and Remy led her to one of the divans there to sit.

“Feel any better chere?”  He asked.

“A little, yes.”  She replied.

“That’s good.”  Remy was looking at her, but she was not looking at him.  Her head was slightly dropped and her eyes were closed.  Remy could see her flushed cheeks and her dark lashes against them even in the dark room that was only lit by the moonlight coming through the windows.

“You look amazing tonight.  By far the most beautiful woman this evening.”  Remy attempted.

“Thank you.”  Syren replied, not really realizing what he had said.

“Chere, look at me.” Remy very lightly touched her chin to lead her to turn her face towards him.  She looked up at him, her eyes glazed from the alcohol, which just made her look more appealing to him.  In fact, in that moment with her thoughts running on her feelings for Wolverine and it showing on her flushed face, Syren looked so stunning to Gambit, that he paused from what he was about to say; he was so enraptured with her.

“My god Chere, you’re beautiful.”  Remy said, with all seriousness.

This time Syren really heard him and blushed even deeper.  She glanced away, but Remy caught her face and turned it gently back towards him again.  When he saw her face again he stared long at her.  Then his eyes seemed to narrow slightly and he had a look perhaps of confusion and astonishment on his face.  His began to feel something, he never really felt before; his heart began to swell.

He whispered something in French.  “Vous avez le visage de l’amour.”  He said this, more to himself, than to her, with something of revelation and awe in his voice.  It caught Syren’s attention very quickly.  She did not know what he said, but somehow, she knew it was very deeply felt and something in it took her breath.

The next moment Remy had her in his embrace and passionately kissed her.  That moment was so powerful and intense, even if Syren had consciously wanted to avoid it, she could not.  She was very much carried away by what passed between them, just as he was.  Before she even realized what she was doing, her fingers were running through his hair as she was returning his kiss.

Remy was in ecstasy and tighten his hold on her.  Before long, he was laying her back on the divan and cradling her beneath him.  But the movement seemed to awaken reality to Syren and she slowly came out of the fog she had been caught up in.  When her senses started coming to her, she began to realize what was going on. Had she not been inebriated she would have been quicker to respond, but she was confused and was trying to make sense of what had happened and how she happened to let herself be physically entangled with Remy. 

Gambit on the other hand, did not notice the change and was eagerly looking for more.  But Syren started to pull away from him and gently placed her hands on his chest, applying slight pressure.  She wanted to pull away, but she didn’t want to do it aggressively.  But Remy was too intoxicated to notice the subtle gestures she was making and Syren was forced to speak up.

“Remy please.”

“Chere.” He responded, too involved to understand her.  She had taken away her lips, but her neck was just as inviting.

“Remy, please…stop.”

Remy looked up at her.  “Chere what’s wrong?” He asked, brushing back her hair.

Syren tried to find the words she wanted to say, but she just couldn’t make them come to her.  Gambit smiled at her and kissed her nose and then her mouth.

Syren pushed against him with more effort this time.  “Please stop Remy.”

“You do not feel well?”  He asked, smiling at her.

“No.” she said, trying to raise herself up.

Remy helped her up, but still blocked her from rising up from the divan.

“I need to go.”  Syren told him.

“Go?  Chere, why ya want to go?”  Remy tried to put his arms around her, but as best she could without seeming too cruel, Syren removed them.

“What’s wrong Chere?”  Remy asked, now realizing that she really was wanting to leave.

“I can’t Remy.  I can’t do this.”  Syren tried to explain.

“It’s alright.”  He tried to sooth her.

“No, it’s not.  And I don’t want to.”  Syren tried to get off the divan by crawling away from him to an edge she could put her feet over. 

As she stood to go, Remy, truly alarmed now that she was leaving, grabbed her hand and pulled back.

“Syren, why?  What happened?”

“I’m sorry Remy, I don’t know what came over me but it’s not what I want for us.”

“Chere, how can ya say that?  After what we just felt together?”  Remy tried to calmly plead with her.

“I know….I’m sorry….I don’t know why that happened…I” Syren faltered, looking into his face and seeing the emotion there.  She could think of nothing to explain what had happened.

“Because, it was meant to happen Chere.  Do not be afraid.”  He tried to sooth her again and began kissing her neck once more.

Syren’s neck was her weak spot.  There was no denying how that felt, but she shook herself and attempted to get up again and away from him.  She felt if she stayed around him much more she would no longer be able to resist him.

Remy was determined though and also he didn’t realize that Syren’s apprehension was from her true desire to be with someone else, and not just nervousness being with him.  She he pressed her and did his best to convince her that what they were feeling was right, using his charm and his smooth talk.

At first Syren was confused.  Why had she been feeling like this for Remy?  She cared for Logan, not Remy?  What was she doing here?  And where was Logan?  She needed to find him.  Once that thought entered her mind, she was set.  Her confusion left and she knew she was determined to remove herself from the situation she was in before things got out of hand.

But this revelation was solely on Syren’s side and Remy was just as determined to keep Syren there.  He had no intention of letting her get away and as Syren became more physically aggressive to remove herself, he became more aggressive to keep her there.  His only thought was that he just had to convince her that this was what was meant for them.  He did not even realize how forcefully he was becoming with her; something which was most certainly not usual behavior for the Cajun gentleman nor part of his nature.  Remy could at times be a bit of a cad, but he never once ever attempted to force a woman to be with him.  He never had to.

However, Syren at this point was now fully over whatever it was that had come over them and she had only one thought; to get away.  She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, as she was feeling quite guilty for her behavior and he was her friend, but she just couldn’t stay there anymore either.  She was feeling far too uncomfortable with Gambits pawing and his words.  But Syren’s head was still spinning from the alcohol and she was having a hard time fending him off and she was too afraid that if she tried harder she might hurt him in the process.  Syren had become so frustrated that she started yelling at him and desperately pleaded with him to stop.

Meanwhile, the group down the hall in the ballroom were all happily unaware of what was transpiring, enjoying one another’s company.  But Rogue had begun to wonder where her friend had gone to and so asked Wolverine.

“She was feeling really light headed and went outside to clear her head up.”  He answered.

“Without a coat?”  Rogue asked.  “She’ll freeze.”

‘Yeah, she has been out there for awhile.  Maybe I’ll go get her coat and join her.”

“Well bring her back here before ya two disappear for good.  I wanna say goodnight to her.”  Rogue smiled and winked at him.

Wolverine left the ballroom with his thoughts filled with the evening’s events.  This had been the best New Year’s he’d ever spent; at least, from what he could remember.  He walked slowly down the hall to get Syren’s coat, thinking on this, but as the noise of the music decreased, his ears picked up sounds he wasn’t expecting.  He stopped moving and listened carefully and when the sound of Syren’s distressed voice clearly reached his ear, he was quickly down the hall searching for her.

The scene that he arrived on was one that looked horrific, seeing as Wolverine did not know what had led up to it.  So what he saw was the woman he cared for, pinned down on a couch by that Cajun thief bastard, who was physically restraining her while she was pleading with him to let her go.

Neither Syren, nor Gambit knew that Wolverine was there till he had grabbed Gambit by the shoulders and hurled him across the room.  It was so surprising that Syren screamed at the sudden violent act.

“Son of a bitch!”  Wolverine yelled out.  Remy had landed against the wall and he sat on the floor before it a moment, taking stock of what just happened.  When he realized that it was Wolverine and that he must have seen them together, Remy quickly sobered up.  That toss seemed to jar him back to reality, as Syren experienced earlier and he realized how he had been behaving and how it must have looked to Wolverine.  But Remy was not quick enough.  Before he could get on his feet, Wolverine had grabbed him and lifted him up.

However, it was enough time to allow Gambit to react and he just barely missed a round house swing aimed straight at his head.

“Wolverine, wait!”  But another swing had come his way and sent him flying.

Syren had been so shocked at Gambit being suddenly ripped from her and then to see him crashing against the wall, along with the intense anger on Wolverine’s face, that she froze where she was.  But as she saw Gambit take a hit square in the jar and realized that Wolverine was far from being through, Syren realized she had to do something.

Meanwhile Gambit, realizing too that he was really in for it, tried to talk to him.  “Wolverine, just let me explain…”

Wolverine did not reply or even hesitate; he was not about to listen to any explanation. He had one thought; to rid himself of this menace once and for all.  He landed another one on Gambits jaw with an upper cut, which knocked Gambit onto his back.

As much as Gambit understood why Wolverine was pissed, there was no way in hell he was going to let Wolverine just kick the shit out of him.  He swiftly reached his hand into a pocket and pulled out a playing card.

Just as quickly as the card appeared, it glowed with the charge of kinetic energy Gambit transferred to it.  Wolverine just missed the card hitting him and it instead exploded on the wall behind him.

This moved Syren from her spot quickly.  She could not let them continue at this rate, because it was not going to end well.  Thankfully the card hadn’t a full charge and the damage had been minimal to the wall.  But when Syren looked at the two fighting, Gambit was on his feet with another card and Wolverine’s claws were extended.

Alarmed, Syren started over to Wolverine.  Even if Gambit directly hit Wolverine, the blast would not be enough to stop him; Gambit was just too drunk to fully gather his power and Wolverine would kill him.

“Logan, don’t!”  She yelled at him, but Gambit had let the card fly and Logan dodged it and took a swing at him with his claws.  Gambit stumbled back out of the way of the blades, but he did not have his balance and fell back again.  His head was just spinning too much from liquor and already being banged around.

Syren saw Wolverine going in for a well placed stab and she quickly tried to stop him by grabbing his arm and pulling him back as hard as she could.  But in that moment, Wolverine was stronger and wrenched his arm from her grasp, not even realizing that it was her that had grabbed hold of him.  He felt his claws scrape and stick for a moment and then jerked them free and made ready to resume what he’d begun.

But something in the look of Gambit’s face caused him to hesitate just a moment; just long enough to sense something had happened, that something was wrong.  He noticed the tips of his claws ever so slightly stained and when he looked at Gambits face again, he saw it had gone white and his eyes were wide and his mouth stood agape.

Wolverine spun around and saw Syren standing there.  She was holding her side, her knees were shaking and her body jerked from her trying to breathe.

“Syren?’  Wolverine called to her.

She tried to speak.  Her mouth opened, but she couldn’t make anything come out.  She couldn’t get a breath.  Her face twinged as she felt the pain start to move through her whole body and she collapsed.

“Syren!”  Wolverine yelled and he was at her side almost before she hit the floor.

“Mon Dieu, mon Dieu!” Gambit cried out as he picked himself off the floor.

Syren was shaking and her breaths came in short gasps.  Wolverine was terrified to look, but he pulled her hands away from her side.  Beneath he saw her dress torn and blood that was now flowing from her side, where three distinct stab wounds shown just at the bottom of her rib cage.

Wolverine gasped and lost his breath a moment and then agony came over his face.  “Oh God no!  Syren, no!”

Gambit ran down the hall towards the ballroom, where he broke through the closed doors.  Upon seeing him, the Professor immediately sense what happened.

“Hank!”  Xavier called out.

Beast looked up and seeing the seriousness on the Professor’s face and then the look on Gambits, he was making his way across the room before Gambit could even explain.

“It’s Syren, she’s hurt!”

The two ran down the hall, with others following behind.  As Beast came to where Gambit had left the two, he saw Wolverine kneeling on the floor in a puddle of blood, cradling and rocking Syren in his arms.  She was unconscious and dead white and as Beast knelt to her, he could hear Wolverine’s sobs.

“Logan, let me help her.”  He said gently.  However, the words didn’t totally sink in and Beast had to pull Wolverine away.  Beast was quick to remove his shirt and press it against her side.  He picked her up off the floor and made his way down the hall toward the elevator that would take him to the Med Lab. 

Jean was soon behind him, but the rest of the crowd remained gathered around the scene of Wolverine kneeling in a pool of blood; standing there in shock and horror at what they saw, with not one of them deceived of what had happened.

Wolverine finally rose from the floor, but it was only for a brief moment that he could look at the crowd that had gathered.  He looked back down at the blood and then left.  He was down the hall and the doors to the grounds could be heard slamming behind him.

Professor Xavier took a deep breath and then spoke to Gambit.  “You, come with me.”  The Professor started down the hall and Gambit reluctantly followed with his head hung in shame and grief.  Jubilee was crying and Storm was trying to comfort her.  Rogue had tears in her eyes as well and hadn’t moved from the spot she was in nor taken her hand from her mouth out of shock at seeing what she saw.  It was sometime before the group was able to collect themselves and eventually Cyclops suggested cleaning up and calling it a night.  It was difficult for the group and most of them that evening upon retiring to their rooms, did not fall to sleep.

Meanwhile, the Professor and Gambit made their way to the Med Lab.  Twice Gambit tried to speak, to explain, but the Professor silenced him with a raised hand.  The two entered the anti-room, but went no further.  They watched Beast and Jean working, hoping to see a sign of good fortune.  Eventually they were taken notice of and Jean came over long enough to give them a report through the speaker system.

“She’s lost a lot of blood and her left lung collapsed, but none of her other vital organs were damaged.  It appears the blades entered and left, without any tearing, so the wounds are relatively small.  We think she will be ok.”

The Professor nodded in relief and Jean signed off.  However, Xavier made no motion to leave, but rather remained thinking.  Eventually he turned to Gambit and spoke to him.

“I believe you wanted to say something.”

“I wanted to explain what happened.”  Gambit stated.

“I would appreciate that.”  The Professor responded.

Remy hesitated.  “The only problem is… I don’ know how.” He said, thinking of the confusion that led to the fight.

“You should start with explaining how it is that Wolverine came to cause this injury, when only a short time earlier he had been showing his affection for Syren and why it was that you were there.”  The Professor suggested.

“Yes.”  Remy sighed deeply.  “Wolverine and I were fightin’ and Syren tried to step in.  Wolverine din mean to do it, he…he din even realize he’d dun it.”

“He was that angry?”  The Professor said, half to himself and half to Gambit.  “What you are saying then is that if it were not Syren on that table, it would be yourself?”

Gambit wasn’t sure what to say and looked rather guilty; it should have been him, not Syren.  If only he could trade places, he would.

“So explain to me how it was that Wolverine became angry enough to want to kill you.”

This was the part Gambit felt was going to be difficult to explain.  He didn’t really understand what had happened himself.  The Professor waited patiently for Gambit to collect his thoughts and finally Remy spoke.

“I went outside, to smoke,” Remy lied, without a hint of blushing, “and I found Syren outside, without a coat and so I suggest to her that she come inside.  She said her head was spinin’ so I took her for a walk through the hall.  Then we sat down…”

Here Gambit hesitated as he still wasn’t sure how to explain it.

“Yes?”  The Professor encouraged.

Remy just decided to spill it.  “Professor, I can’t understand what happened.  I was sittin’ there next to her and I think to myself, she look so beautiful, it seem I can’t resist her.”

“I know, Remy, that you have felt an attraction to Syren since she had first came to the mansion, so I can imagine that you feel that Wolverine has stepped…”

Remy cut him off.  “Non, Professor, it wasn’ like that.  I admit, I have been tryin’ to see if I could make Syren look to Remy over Wolverine, but this was different.”

The Professor looked at Gambit curiously, as Gambit seemed to speak in earnest.  “What did you feel Gambit?”  He asked, and then as he listened to Remy reply, he very lightly probed Gambits mind, to sense his emotions.

“I don know, but it seemed very powerful.  I remember thinking, I never felt like this.  I couldn’a looked away from her face if I wanted to.”  Then Gambit brow furrowed as he recalled something he’d thought earlier.

“Le visage de l’amour.”  He whispered.

The Professor, who had been paying close attention to him, started at Gambit’s words.  The emotion he felt from him as he said it, did seem powerful indeed.

“Le visage de l’amour?”

“The face of love, Professor.”  Remy responded.

The Professor's face changed, as his mind began to realize what Gambit had been trying to explain and sat he quietly.

Gambit was silent too for a minute and then he said, “I think in that moment, I see the love Professor, like it was a person.”

“Yes.” Xavier said slowly, understanding what Remy meant, but not sure of why or what it meant.

Eventually he said, “Perhaps you should get some rest.  We can talk about this more tomorrow.”

Gambit nodded and left and the Professor waited there in the anti-room, thinking.

It was some time before Beast and Jean emerged, but it was with satisfactory news, Syren was stable.  However, the look on the Professor’s face immediately got Jean’s attention.

“Professor, is there something wrong?”

“I don’t know.”  He said.  “We will talk about it tomorrow.  I am sure you are both exhausted.”  And with that, the three made their way to the elevator.



It would be some time before we fully understood what had happened.  In fact, it wasn’t until after it happened to have occurred with others, that we came to the realization of what was going on with Syren.  Gambit had just been her first victim, for lack of a better word.  Gambit…what a lot of trouble that man was.  I should have paid more attention to him when it came to Syren than Wolverine; but that’s all past now.  I often wonder if it was because of him that Syren’s problem was triggered or if it really was just destined to come about anyway. 

To try and simplify, we already knew that Syren’s emotions were a source of her strength and over time it was realized that Syren seemed quite adept at reading what others were feeling.  It didn’t at the time occur to us why that was, we just thought as everyone else did; that Syren was easy to talk to, because she understood; because she just knew.  When I say we, I of course mean myself, Jean and the Professor.  It turned out to be something quite different.

The best way I can explain it, was that Syren’s subconscious was like an antenna; it could “receive” emotions that others were exerting and she would react to them, by feeling those emotions herself, without realizing that was happening.  This was why Syren could relate with someone so well; she was in affect literally feeling what they were feeling. 

The problem started when that antenna became two-way; not only did it receive but it also emitted. If I think about it, I imagine that I might be able to recall times where we noticed this, before the full onset that is.  People often say that someone’s laugh is infectious.  Well, Syren’s moods could be like that.  Like when you walk into a room of a group of people and without knowing what had been going on, you can sense the mood there, especially when there was something wrong.  Only with Syren, it didn’t have to be a group of people, it was just her.

Eventually as this grew stronger, it wasn’t just the atmosphere that her moods could affect, it was people themselves.  Now usually when someone thinks of a persons mood affecting other people, because we have all experienced that at one time or another, the emotions we usually think are elation, or anger, sadness or fear.  Animals are said to be able to “smell” fear, though I am certain what is meant by this, is that they sense it.  This was the case with Syren, but it was not limited to those emotions.  You could feel her frustration, annoyance, indignation, pride, loyalty, depression, hate, joy and love and eventually they began to influence those near her.

Now Syren had early on been trained to control herself physically when her emotions ran, because as I said, we knew that her adrenaline would cause a surge of strength and in the beginning she didn’t know how to control that strength, so she was particularly trained in this area. But this problem that developed was not on a conscious level.  That was why I said her subconscious was the antenna.  She could physically control her strength, but she had no way of controlling or was even aware that her emotions could affect others or that she was being affected.  In a strange why, it was like hypnosis and this once again, gave us reason to think that Syren may have telepathic ability.

Now, to understand what happened between Gambit and Syren, I would need to make mention about Gambit himself.  Remy LeBeau, was supposed to a small bit of telepathic ability, but he never really displayed it.  However, it was thought that this was what was part of his “Charm” that he had with women and truth be told, Gambit was just that sort of man to waste such an ability solely on pursuing the female sex.

When Gambit realized that Syren was interested in Wolverine, and he with her, yet Logan wasn’t really pursuing her, this as I mentioned before, reawakened Gambits interest in Syren.  Frankly, he saw a challenge.  Though, Gambit always swore that he really did care for Syren, which was not Gambits way, so I did find it difficult to completely disbelieve him.  Plus he said he was “drawn to her” and this I had to believe because as much as he cared for Rogue as we all later learned, and did everything he could to find a way for them to be together, he still seemed not to be able to leave Syren alone.

So, it is our assumption that on New Year’s Eve, when it was clear how Syren and Wolverine’s relationship were to be, Gambit’s intention was to make one last vie for her, or it could be that he just couldn’t stand losing.  Either way, he decided to break his own rules and try to charm her.  When he did that, we think his telepathy may have trigger something in Syren.  Syren’s emotions received it, which affected her, and her subconscious took over, which in turn amplified the emotions and emitted them, consuming Remy.  He couldn’t feel anything else.  Both were in a kind of love spell, as much as it is distasteful for me to say.

At the time, I personally didn’t believe a word of it.  I thought it was tripe from start to finish.  Even after other instances of it happening and even Jean telling me that she experienced overwhelming emotions while around Syren at certain times, so strong that it truly affected her.  No, I wasn’t buying it, not the part about them not being able to physically restrain themselves.

I was willing to concede the strong emotions, because Syren and I argued often enough that there were times when her anger became so strong, that I felt I would burst if I didn’t leave and go punch something!  And really her anger got to be frightening.  But I never once, punched her.  So, I wasn’t willing to believe that the short convergences she shared with some of the men she came in contact with were out of her hands.  I felt it was a way to excuse her behavior.  That is, until I experienced it myself.

Talk about eating crow.  As much as I felt guilty and still do feel guilty for what occurred between us, for both her and Jean’s sake, it did in a strange way have a positive affect.  Had I never experience it myself, I would never have truly known or given Syren the benefit of the doubt.  I only wished it had occurred earlier, as I would have been looking to be sympathetic and helpful, instead of being disgusted and mistrustful of her.  By the time I finally came to understand, things had gotten so bad for Syren, I don’t think things could have been turned around.

But I get ahead of myself.  The incident was solely spoken of, on that level, between Gambit and the Professor, so for sometime Gambit as well had his reputation tarnished, as it was assumed that he had simply taken advantage of Syren while she was intoxicated.  And to Gambit’s credit, he never once tried to lay blame with Syren.  He shouldered it all.

This caused considerable trouble between him and Wolverine.  Wolverine blamed him for his behavior with Syren and the result of Syren being injured.  However, Logan was laying plenty of blame on himself.  It was days before he returned to the mansion and he looked like hell when he showed up.  It was my thought that he spent those days in a drunken stupor.  After a shower, he made straight for the Professor’s office.  Jean and I both happened to be there and I wish I could say I had been gracious, but I was not.



Wolverine looked around his room.  The years he had spent there had been for the most part good.  He should have known it couldn’t have lasted.  Life was ironic; just when he found a reason to stay…  Well, not anymore.  He desperately wanted to pack a few things into a bag and go.  If it weren’t for Jean…  She deserved to hear it face to face, and he guessed the Professor did too.  It was going to really suck, but he decided to just face the music.  The sooner he did it, the sooner he could get the hell out of there.

He threw a shirt on and headed for the Professor’s Office.  He already knew that Jean and Scott were there.  If only he could tell Cyclops to hit the road, but he didn’t want to even look his way.  God, Scott had been right; he was an animal.

Make it quick Logan, he told himself.  Get in and get out and don’t let them try to talk you out of it.  Logan stood before the large oak door of the Professor’s office and with a deep breath, turned the knob and entered.

“Logan.”  Jean’s voice held relief.  “We’ve been so worried about you.”

Wolverine found he couldn’t even look Jean in the eye, he was so disgusted with himself.

“Well, some of us were.”  Cyclops said.

Wolverine made no sign of caring about the jab. “I’m sorry Jean.” He said.

“Syren has been asking about you every time she wakes up.  She’ll be glad to hear you're home.”  Jean smiled.

Wolverine winced.  It was just a knife going through his gut.  And there were any number of things he wanted to say; like is she going to be ok, or thank you for taking care of her, or will she ever forgive me?  But none of those things were going to be said.  Logan knew what he needed to do and better to do it quick.

“I’m not staying Jean.”

“What do you mean, you’re not staying?”  Jean sounded alarmed.

“It’s better if I go.”

Cyclops was sneering and Jean gave him a frustrated look.

“Better for who?”  Jean insisted.

“Better for everyone.”  Logan answered.

“Or do you mean better for Syren?”  The Professor joined in.

“Oh, no Logan.  It would break her heart.”  Jean said.

“I’m thinkin’ she’ll get over it.”  Logan said.

“You don’t have to do this Logan.” The Professor spoke silently to him.

“Yes, I do.”  He thought back.

“Well, seems your mind is made up.”  Cyclops said, with blatantly no regret in his voice.

“Yeah, it is.”  Wolverine agreed.  “I just came here to tell you face to face.  I’m packing and then I’m gone.”

“You know that you will always be welcome here.”  The Professor said.

Wolverine nodded and briskly walked out of the room.

“I can’t believe we are going to let him go!”  Jean stated, wishing there was something someone would do.

“It is best to let Wolverine work this out for himself.”  The Professor said.

But Jean wasn’t having it.  She went after him and caught up with him at the elevator and hitched a ride up with him.

“Jeanie, there ain’t nothin’ you can say.”  He said, wishing she hadn’t followed.

“Wolverine, please think this over.”  She pleaded.

“What do you think I’ve been doing the past three days?” Wolverine snapped.

“Feeling guilty and sorry for yourself.”  Jean said, following him out of the elevator.  “But you’ve got to get past this.  It was an accident.” 

Wolverine stopped and turned to Jean.  “Damn it Jean, I almost killed her.”  He growled.  He started walking away again.  “Cyclops was right, I’m just an animal.”

“Logan that’s not true.”  Jean replied.

“Really?  Because I think he’s just been proved right.” 

“You aren’t even going to tell Syren”  Jean asked.

“That is the last thing I want to do.”  Wolverine admitted.

“Talk to her Logan.”  Jean pleaded.  “I think Syren can handle it.  You should at least give her the chance.  Are you really that afraid she will reject you?” 

Wolverine shook his head.  “It wouldn’t matter.  I don’t want to stay.  I don’t want to hurt her again.  I don’t want to hurt anyone else again.  I’m sorry Jean.” Wolverine stated and disappeared into his room.

Jean rested her hand on his door and sighed heavily.  Her own heart was breaking.  She really did care very much for Wolverine and she only wanted him to be happy.  Now, he was more miserable than ever and he was leaving.  What would she do without him there; a part of her life?  And what about Syren?



***To Be Continued***