A Moment To Talk

Peter blinked wondering if Serena was just being difficult and dense on purpose or honestly did not know what he meant. He ‘tried’ not to get irritated but Serena just made it all harder. “Nevermind,” he said abandoning that route. “Do you see anything yet?” he asked as he felt along the wall and looked at the floor to see if anything might pivot out of the way or shift. He wouldn’t put it past Tony to have some kind of secret room in this massive tower. Or even a whole floor they was built so it wasn’t discoverable form the outside.

The walls in the lab were shielded from an in depth scan but Serena could see if there was an electrical current going to anything that they couldn’t see. A tile on the wall that could be depressed or a button hidden that didn't make any sense. She looked for anything and everything that might be a sign that something was not right. However Tony, was extremely clever and also knew that his daughter was to.

“Do you remember when we first met Natalya?” Logan said suddenly. He had wanted to put everything behind them, wanted to not come back to this but he couldn’t drop it. He wanted her right then, wanted to not feel so alone in his own skin.

3 years earlier…

Bullets popped out of Logan’s skin and fell to the ground. He had been holding his shoulder to keep his blood from gushing out but now it was just a stain on his Avengers Uniform. He had several such wounds now since healed and the one he chased, a woman named Natalya Sokolova was a very good shot.

Her first few shots he knew were tranquilizing darts but as she stood over him she didn't know that the effects from them only lasted a short time on him. That was the first time that they had exchanged words and Logan had had a chance to get a good look at the woman. Indeed she was quite beautiful with long, dark hair that fall down her back in silky waves. In the dark he could not see if her eyes were blue or brown and her skin had the sheen of someone who had a slight, tanned look to them. Her nationality was impossible to determine but it was her expression that had surprised him. A cross between anger and sadness he couldn’t be certain which came through stronger though. He played as if he couldn’t move very much. If she wanted to talk he would listen...for a time. But he still knew he had a job to do and Steve Rogers didn’t have the stomach to put a lioness down, even if she was one of the most wanted criminals in the world. Wolverine blinked as if he were having trouble keeping his eyes open. In truth he was but he felt the drugs in his blood wearing off quickly.

“If you stop running I won’t have to kill you,” He said in his usual gruff way of speaking. It was odd to say that when he was on the ground and she stood over him with her weapon trained on him. But he meant what he said. If she ‘were’ to give herself up, he would bring her in to face justice. Though that likely meant the same thing.

Serena sighed and glanced at Peter. She knew that what he was trying to get at and she wished he would just drop it. Every time he brought this subject up it just made things worse. Thankfully, he dropped it pretty quickly though she thought she could see an irritated expression on his face. She continued her scan of the room. She wasn't even sure if the suit was in here, but she hoped it was. She had searched everywhere else she could think of. She knew her father was extremely clever and would have it well hidden, but being his daughter she hoped she would be able to figure it out. As the scanner scanned the walls she suddenly spotted an odd anomaly. She looked over at Peter.

"I think I may have something. Look at this. It looks almost like this part of the wall was once removed or changed."


Natalya looked over at Logan with a soft expression in her eyes when he asked if she remembered when they first met. "Of course I do..."

Natalya stood over Logan and kept her gun pointed directly at him. She was dressed in an all black spandex suit and knee high boots. With just a half glance one would be able to see how incredibly beautiful she was. She had a dark, mysterious look to her, but looking into her eyes one could also see how incredibly dangerous she truly was. Her target had been taken care of already, but this man had decided to try and intervene in her escape. One glance at his uniform was enough to tell her that he was an Avenger, but he clearly had no idea who he was dealing with. She wasn't afraid of him...or anyone for that matter. She was a well trained killing machine. He wasn't one of her targets, but killing him would just be the icing on the cake.

She laughed a little at his comment. "You do realize that I'm the one standing over you holding the gun, right? Well, that's a mistake you won't make again." She then unloaded her clip into him. She was out of clips, but that didn't matter. She was to be picked up in just over an hour. She looked at his body for a moment, thinking he was actually rather handsome (if in a rugged sort of way), before turning and walking away.

Peter turned back toward her immediately after he heard her and stepped over to her. It was a portion of wall not unlike any other part from what he could tell. When she handed him the scope though and he looked through it he saw that behind the wall was definitely some kind of recess. Like a closet or some kind of container. It was large but they couldn't see it full depth and it went from floor to ceiling.

“It could just be a shielded housing for some of the rooms electronics. It could also be a vital system to Jarvis, there is no way to really tell,” Peter said as he continued to look at the scope. “There wasn’t alot of conduits anywhere though...so i don't know,” he added and stopped looking through the scope. “And I’ve already looked on that wall. I don’t know if we can open it here if we wanted to,” he said. “Not without Jarvis’s help anyway,” he added and looked at her. They were in close proximity and she did that thing with her lip and tongue that she always did when she was thinking of doing something she knew she shouldn’t. And it made Peter nervous.

“C’mon Serena, can’t ya just ask em? Just ask him, tell him how much it means to you,” he said and then felt like such a hypocrite. It was then that he saw the clock. And his eyes bulged.

“Oh damn...im late for class!” he said quickly and ran out of the lab in a big hurry.

It had only taken moments for the bullets to exit his body and his eyes opened. The metal bits thumped to the floor and she pivoted her head back as if she had heard something. With a feral growl Logan kipped up to his feet then lurched toward her, claws out. Natalya only narrowly escaped being slashed across her sternum and his claws only bit into her flesh. She flipped over a couch and threw her weapon at the window that led out onto a small balcony 14 stories above the ground. The glass cracked but didn’t shatter and as she ran toward it she picked up an ashtray and threw it ahead of her. The glass shattered and she hopped up on the balcony guarding then flung herself off into the night air. As she fell Natalya aimed her wrist grapple at the building next door and it fired and punched into the metal frame of an office window. The grapple began to pull her toward it and her fall turned into a swing. She crashed into the glass that shattered upon her impact, feet first then flipped back onto her feet and disconnected the grapple in one, fluid motion.

Logan was furious and blood and much needed oxygen filled his blood and lungs. He howled like a an angry wolf and with his strong, powerful legs he leaped off the balcony with reckless abandon. His claws sunk deep into the metal window frame but he was a bit low and though he was at the same window she had came through he struggled to get purchase so he could climb up. “All your luck is about used up lady!” Logan growled and he chuckled darkly as he managed to get a claw up into the room. He punched it down right into the floor and crawled up, ignoring how the jagged glass cut into him.

Natalya had been shocked when the man had just gotten up after she had unloaded her clip into him. He should have been dead. Instead, his body had begun to heal and the bullets had been pushed up and out of his flesh. She had never seen anything like it and knew in that moment that she was dealing with a powerful mutant who couldn’t be easily killed. She was out of bullets and he had claws so the only choice she had was to run.

Getting to the next building was easy and she turned and watched in shock as this man leapt from the other building with his claws out and made it across the space between the buildings. He hadn’t made it up as far as she had, but with his claws he was able to crawl up. If she wasn’t slightly terrified at the moment she would have been impressed. She was bleeding from the wound she had received from those claws but she ignored it.

Natalya began to run through the building with the man behind her. She burst through a set of doors she thought would take her into another hallway but instead she found herself trapped in a windowless room. Her adrenaline was pumping hard and she knew she was running out of options. Inside the room a janitor had been sweeping. She grabbed him from behind and put one of her daggers to his neck.

“Let me go or I will kill this man.”

Logan was angry now and the bullets and glass HURT! Not now though he was healed but it had hurt. He shut the door behind him then turned back to face them. The old man she held a knife to trembled. He wore a faded green jumpsuit and he had a look of terror in his eyes. “If he dies, you die!” Logan growled. “Nowhere left to run!” He said angrily and flashed his claws out as far as they would go. He held his arms out to his sides threatening. Blocking her only exist with his body. She’d have to run past him and open the door. If he didn’t balk at a bullet, a knife would not do any better. He could see her working out her options but it was the old man that troubled him. If there was a way for him to live, Logan would prefer that. He didn’t have to die...and the notion that no one else had to die today became first and foremost in his mind.

“There is someone that would like to talk to you, let the man go,” he began and allowed his claws to retract. Logan straightened in a less threatening manner as well. “Let the man go and I’ll bring you in,” He said though his face still looked angry.

Serena sighed as she watched Peter leave. She knew that if she asked her father that he wouldn’t tell her anything and she hated that. He wasn’t going to be happy but she was going to find that suit. “Hey Jarvis. Can you do a deep scan of this wall and tell me what’s behind it?”

Natalya didn’t relax. She remained tense and kept the knife to the man’s neck. As Logan looked at Natalya he would see in her eyes that there was more to her than just the killer she appeared to be. There was pain...deep pain. Her eyes looked at Logan and for a moment she almost seemed to consider his offer. Then her eyes re-hardened and her gaze narrowed at him. “You’re lying to me.”

“I’m sorry Serena, you do not have sufficient access for me to do as you ask,” Jarvis said. Was her only reply.

Logan couldn’t help but frown. He couldn’t very well get rid of his claws. And besides that sirens could now be heard in the distance. He looked to the side as his ears picked it up and there was something else. He could ‘smell’ her. She was not the heartless killing type right now. She did not want to kill that man. There was definitely something wrong here. “Why are you afraid?” he asked out of the blue. “You don’t strike as someone who could feel fear,” he said. The other thing he noticed was that she was fast. Extremely fast, faster than a regular person by far. “You’re an SSB agent but you move like...like Captain America,” He said and Logan narrowed his eyes.

“If the police come they will kill you. If you let me bring you in,” he began then he saw her press the knife up to the man’s neck again. “Listen, if I wanted you dead right now I’d just wait for them to come and kill you. Drop your weapons,” He said again and glanced down at her boot briefly. “And I’ll take you to see Captain America,” Logan said. “Resist and you die...try to escape and you die,” he said more harshly.

The sound of the sirens put Natalya more on edge. She wasn’t exactly panicked, because her training prevented her from becoming panicked, but she was anxious and trying to work out how to get out of this. However, she was afraid and she didn’t know why. She wanted to trust this man though...she wanted to be able to trust someone.

When Logan took a step towards her she pressed the knife harder into the hostage’s neck. She glanced at Logan and then towards the door. She could hear the police coming. Finally, she released her grip on the hostage and lowered the knife.

The old man stood slowly and his lips quivered nervously as he took his first step away from the woman who had threatened to kill him. His eyes were wide in fear and his forehead beaded with sweat. His
Mouth moved as if he wanted to say something but he only hobbled toward the door. Logan watched him go through it and the door closed behind him with a loud click. He turned back toward Natalya and slowly removed something from his belt.

With his fingers he showed her the small capsule and then set it down on a filing cabinet near her and stepped back. His meaning was plain. He could not risk her escaping and the gesture was plain that he did not intend on killing her.

Present day.

Logan sat back in his chair and took a long swallow of beer. He looked at her for a long moment before he spoke. “You had a long one on one with Steve when I brought you in but you never said what he said.I’ve always been curious, I don’t picture Cap to threaten someone. Not really,” He said. “And then he made ‘me’ responsible for you,” he chuckled.

Natalya crossed her legs under her as she continued to sit on Logan's bed. She took a sip of her beer and was quiet a long while as she thought back to what had happened after Logan had brought her in. She had been taken straight to this very building and put in the conference room with Steve. Her hands had been bound when she had gone in, but Steve had unbound them before she left. She thought about what Steve had said to her, and it was something she decided that needed to just stay between them. However, there was something else that Natalya was curious about.

"Logan, you have never really told me why you didn't just kill me. I know that you've always said it was because of the custodian, but I'm not sure I fully believe that."

Upon hearing her question, Logan turned and looked at her for a long moment that seemed to stretch out. Why did he not just kill her? He wondered. He supppsed it was a combination of things but part of it, a lot of it was her eyes. He had killed enough people to know when someone didn’t want to die. Logan had strong senses and he had sensed that from her.

“You didn’t want to die and though perhaps you deserved death...there was just something in your eyes,” he said remembering back and he leaned forward on his chair. “That and you were so...beautiful, it felt wrong to do it,” Logan admitted.

Peter was late to his Liberal Arts class and most of the seats were occupied. In the third row there was an empty seat and as he sat he looked to his left and saw a smiling Mary Jane looking at him. She had long fiery red hair and her face and nose had a few freckles. She was, in a word, gorgeous and she was looking at him. Peter sat and got his book open then looked at her. “Hi..I’m…” he began but she spoke before he could finish. “Peter Parker,” she said sweetly and Peter all but melted at hearing her speak his name. He smiled. “And you’re Mary Jane Watson,” Peter said and extended his hand to her. Mary Jane took it and her smile grew as spots of color appeared on Peter’s cheeks.

After the class was finished and people were collecting their things to leave Peter turned toward her. “Uh...Mary Jane...would you like to..uh, get a coffee or a burger later?” He asked awkwardly. “Sure, 2 o’clock?” She asked and Peter smiled, “Sounds great...Hamlins?” He suggested, they made great burgers and she nodded. Another girl named Brienne came up to her and Mary Jane waved goodbye at him as they left. Peter watched them go and was hit with a wave of happiness that created a permanent smile on his face.

A bit later he was back at the tower and doing a bit of homework in his room. It wasn’t easy to concentrate with the thought of going on a date later with Mary Jane.

Serena had seen Peter come into the Tower, but she had been in the kitchen with her father and hadn't been able to get away. He was talking about where they should go for dinner that night. Serena wanted pizza, but didn't really care where they went. When Steve and Kate walked in she saw her opportunity to slip away and she grabbed two sodas and headed up to Peter's room. The door was half open so she knocked and when he told her it was ok to come in she walked in and smiled at him.

"I thought you might be thirsty," she said as she handed him the soda can and then sat down on his bed. "I've been racking my brain on how to get into that wall without my father finding out but haven't come up with a good idea yet. I'm going to dinner with my dad, but afterwards did you want to go get some ice cream and brainstorm?"

Peter accepted the soda and opened it with a pop and a fizz. “Thank you Serena.” He said in a neutral tone. “I’m...busy later,” he said. But didn’t offer up any more information then that.

Serena's smile immediately faded and she appeared rather stunned. Peter was always willing to do things with her. She felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. This was so...unexpected. She didn't really know what to do with herself all of a sudden. "Oh, ok...Are you doing something with Logan and Pharaoh?"

It never occurred to him to lie or be deceitful. It wasn’t in Peter’s nature save for who he protected by not revealing himself. But that was different. This was Serena, his best friend. “No...I have...I’m going out…with a new friend I made today, Mary Jane,” he said and looked up at her. “Maybe later? When you get back?” He asked in consolation though he didn’t know why he felt that way. Serena was pretty clear that she saw him as just a friend no matter of his feelings for her.

Serena suddenly felt as if her heart had dropped from her chest at his words. He was going out with another girl? Why did this bother her? She just wanted to be his friend, right? She was suddenly so confused? Why did she suddenly feel jealous? She needed to get out of here. She heard the helicopter that was there to take her to class. She stood up and tried to figure out what to say. “Well...um...have a nice time.” She turned and quickly left.