Chapter 192: The Letter
Xavier's office smelled of books and polish, but underneath that Logan caught the sharp edge of worry. The Professor sat behind his desk, the letter already in his hand, waiting. The team gathered: Scott standing stiff like a soldier on inspection, Colossus towering but awkward, Kurt with his tail twitching nervously, Ororo calm as the eye of a storm, Kitty bouncing on her toes until she noticed Xavier's grave expression.
Charles adjusted his glasses. "Katherine… I've received something from your parents. I think it best you read it yourself."
He extended the letter. Kitty took it with quick fingers, unfolding the paper. Her eyes danced across the words, then froze. Her lips trembled. She pressed a hand to her mouth, then the tears came fast, hot, unstoppable.
"Kitten?" Logan's voice was low, gravel roughened with concern.
She shook her head, unable to speak. The paper slipped from her hand. Storm caught it before it touched the ground. Her eyes flicked through the words, widening. She lifted her head sharply. "Professor… what is this?"
Xavier's face was calm, but there was weight behind his eyes. "A letter from her parents. They've requested Kitty be withdrawn from this institution and transferred to the Massachusetts Academy. It seems they believe she will be… happier among peers her own age."
"Massachusetts Academy?" Kurt's voice cracked in disbelief. His tail coiled like a whip. "That belongs to—"
"Emma Frost," Colossus rumbled, fists clenching. His accent thickened when he was angry. "The Hellfire witch."
Scott's visor tilted. "This has her fingerprints all over it. Did she tamper with Kitty's parents? Telepathic coercion?"
"I considered that." Xavier steepled his fingers. "I searched carefully. No psychic intrusion, no manipulation. The decision is their own. They see their daughter surrounded by adults, warriors. They want her with children. Friends."
"Friends?" Logan snorted, his lip curling back to show a flash of fang. "That woman doesn't run a school. She runs a recruiting ground for the Hellfire Club. You know it. I know it. So do the rest of us."
Charles' gaze tightened. "I cannot interfere in the rights of her parents. They believe they are acting in Kitty's best interest."
Logan stepped forward, shoulders bunched, voice a low growl. "Then USE your power, Chuck. Change their damn minds. Make 'em see sense."
"No." Xavier's reply was sharp, final, his tone like steel. "If I cross that line, I am no better than the villains we fight."
Kitty made a sound like a sob turned inside out. Without warning she phased right through the floor, vanishing. The room went dead silent.
"Kitty!" Colossus half-lunged, hand reaching through empty air.
Nightcrawler rubbed at his forehead. "Ach… poor Mädchen. She must be shattered."
Storm folded the letter, her hand trembling just once before she steadied it. Her voice was soft, but there was lightning beneath it. "Charles… she is a child. A frightened child. We are her family."
Xavier closed his eyes. "And that is why it hurts me more than you know. But I cannot defy her parents' wishes."
Scott turned, pacing like a caged wolf. "Then what do we do? Just let Frost take her?"
No one answered. The silence pressed heavy, broken only by Logan's rough exhale. He turned toward the door. "Kid needs space. Let her cry it out. Tomorrow… tomorrow we'll see what kind of farewell this really is."
'Damn it, Chuck,' Logan thought, lighting a cigar the moment he was in the hall. 'You just put her in the lion's den. And the worst part? You know it.'
The smoke curled in the dim corridor as the night in the mansion stretched heavy with sorrow.
---
Morning came too quick. The mansion's halls carried a quiet tension, like the walls themselves knew something was being stolen away. Kitty stood in the foyer, her suitcase clutched like a lifeline. Her eyes were puffy, her smile brittle, the kind of smile you wear when you're trying not to break in front of people you love.
The team gathered around her. Scott adjusted his visor but didn't know what to say. Colossus hovered protectively at her side, his massive hand twitching like he wanted to take the suitcase from her, but didn't dare. Nightcrawler's tail flicked nervously, and for once, he had no jokes ready.
Storm placed her hands gently on Kitty's shoulders. "You are never alone, child. Remember that."
Kitty swallowed hard. "I know… but it feels like it." Her voice cracked, and she hugged Storm fiercely.
Logan leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. He didn't move forward, didn't crowd her. He just let his eyes soften for a moment. 'Kid's tougher than she knows. But she's still just a kid.'
Cyclops cleared his throat, words stiff but sincere. "We'll visit. Often. This doesn't have to be the end of your training with us."
Kitty forced a laugh, but it came out wet. "Yeah, sure. 'Weekend training with the X-Men.' Sounds like a brochure."
Even Kurt's lips twitched at that.
Storm lifted her chin, turning to Xavier. "I will drive her to Massachusetts."
Xavier nodded gravely. "Very well. It is a kind gesture."
Logan's nostrils flared, catching a faint trace under the morning air. Not the usual perfume of Storm's oils or the nervous sweat rolling off Colossus. No, this was something deeper — the faint tang of SOUL-SCENT, a whisper of Ororo's intentions beneath her calm.
He smirked, stepping forward. "Count me in, Chuck. Somebody's gotta see this noble school life for themselves." He clapped a hand on Colossus' shoulder. "You too, big guy. You're coming."
Colossus blinked. "Me?"
"Yeah, tin man. Kid'll need a familiar face around her. And I could use a little muscle if things go sideways."
Storm raised a brow but said nothing. Xavier gave a small nod, though his eyes flickered with unease.
Minutes later, the car was packed. Storm at the wheel, hands graceful but firm on the steering. Logan sat beside her, smoke curling from a cigar he wasn't even lighting yet, just chewing. In the back, Kitty sat pressed close to Colossus, her head leaning against the window, the scenery blurring past in streaks of green and gray.
Logan turned his head slightly, his voice dropping low so only Storm heard. "Hey, babe. That plan cooking in your head? I can sniff it from miles away. You're not fooling anyone."
Ororo's eyes stayed on the road, but her lips tightened. "You speak of plans. Perhaps you should tell me what exactly you think I intend."
He chuckled. "Don't play dumb. You're driving there ready to stir trouble. And if trouble won't show its face, you'll MAKE it. Failing that, you'll snatch the kid back yourself. You've already taken her as your daughter."
Storm's jaw clenched, her voice hushed and sharp. "And what would you have me do, Logan? Let her be swallowed by Emma Frost? Stand aside while she's groomed for the Hellfire Club?"
Logan puffed air through his nose, the ghost of smoke even without the cigar lit. He glanced in the mirror — Kitty was dozing, Colossus whispering something soft in Russian she probably didn't even understand but found comforting.
"Listen," Logan said. "I ain't sayin' you're wrong to feel it. Hell, I feel it too. But barging in fists first ain't the play. Not this time. Not with Chuck already watching us."
Storm flicked her eyes at him for just a second, the weight of stormclouds behind them. "Then what should I do, Logan? Tell me."
Logan leaned back, his voice a quiet growl. "Wait. Watch. And if Frost so much as breathes wrong at the kid, we gut her school from the inside out."
The car rolled on, the tension thick between the two in front, the quiet sorrow thick in the back. The road stretched out long and gray, carrying them closer to the Academy, closer to the storm waiting there.
'Smells wrong already,' Logan thought, eyes narrowing as he sniffed the faintest hint of something sour in the distance. 'Frost, I know your stink. And I ain't lettin' the kid go without a fight.'
-----
The Massachusetts Academy rose out of the trees like a castle that forgot it wasn't supposed to look menacing. The building was all polished stone and expensive glass, but Logan's nose caught what the shine was hiding. Beneath the fresh paint and garden hedges lay something colder. Predatory. The stink of wolves dressed up in silk.
Storm pulled the car into the drive. The moment they parked, a young man in a spotless blazer appeared, too smooth, too practiced. His smile was as crisp as the crease in his trousers.
"Welcome to the Massachusetts Academy," he said, his voice syrup-thick. "Miss Pryde, we're honored to have you. If you'll allow me, I'll show you around. Your friends may accompany you, of course." His eyes skipped politely over Storm. "But the headmistress has requested to meet with you directly, Miss Munroe. For… finalizing paperwork."
Logan's lip twitched around his unlit cigar. 'Convenient. Real convenient.'
Colossus helped Kitty with her bag, though she clutched it tight like she didn't want anyone else touching it. Her eyes darted between her friends, fear flickering behind them.
"It's okay, Katya," Colossus murmured. "We are here."
She nodded, biting her lip, but her voice was small. "Yeah… here."
The guide led them down a polished hall that smelled faintly of antiseptic and lilies. Too clean. Logan trailed behind, eyes half-lidded, letting his nose do the real seeing. He caught the threads of perfumes, detergents, the faint heartbeat stutter of students behind closed doors… and something else. Something sour, sharp. A predator's hostility wrapped in sweetness.
They reached a corner where another set of double doors gleamed. The guide smiled. "Miss Pryde, Mister Rasputin, if you'll come this way. Sir, you're welcome to—"
Logan raised a hand. "Gotta take a leak." He grinned, wolfish. "Nature don't wait."
The guide blinked, then forced the smile back. "Of course. The restroom is—"
But Logan was already strolling the other way, casual, hands in pockets. His steps were lazy, but his nose was locked on the stink.
'There it is. Rotten perfume. Frost.'
He slid into a shadowed alcove, let his body sink into the tiger-born stealth. His presence folded inward, heat, scent, everything dimming until he was just… nothing. A chair in the corner of the world. No one would feel him pass.
Storm's heels clicked down a separate hall, her bearing regal even in hostile territory. Logan padded after, invisible to every sense but the naked eye.
The guide led her to the headmistress' office. The moment the door opened, the smell hit Logan like static against his teeth — cold hostility, veiled under expensive perfume. Emma Frost.
She rose from behind her desk, perfect in white, a smile that was all daggers hidden in silk.
"Miss Munroe. How gracious of you to escort our new pupil. Please, sit."
Storm's shoulders stiffened, lightning hiding behind her eyes. She didn't sit.
And that's when Logan stepped out of the shadows, claws still sheathed but his grin sharp. "Well, well. Looks like the heavens are throwin' you a bone, 'Ro. Seems Kitty's got angels on her side after all."
Storm blinked, then her lips curved the faintest fraction. Emma's smile, however, faltered — just for a heartbeat.
The storm had found its thunder. And the predator had found its prey.