A Beautiful Threat (July 1998)

Tony imagined, for a moment. A scene with Colleen bent over his desk and he was behind her. It went as soon as it came though and he cleared his throat. "An interesting reasoning. I have alot of questions involving how you intend to counteract the cell necrosis but we can table that discussion for another time," He said as he stood up. Logan had been looking for Colleen and Tony smiled at him when he came into the lab. Logan 'never' came in there.

"Hey Logan, Dr. McCallister and I were just discussing Cryogenic stuff," Tony said. Logan grinned. "The only thing I care about is refrigeration, it keeps my beer cold," He said.

Natalya inwardly grinned as Logan came into the lab. She began to imagine these two men fighting over her. She wondered just how easy it might be to convince Tony to cheat on his wife. She decided to switch her focus over to Logan and give him some attention. She wondered if the sudden lack of attention would make Tony jealous.

"Ah, that reminds me. I think we had talked about getting a drink together. Would you like to do that now?"

Logan's grin turned into a smile just as Tony's smile faded. Logan did look at Tony but he waved him off. "Oh, I've got alot do to here, you two have fun," Tony said but he certainly wasn't thinking it. He liked looking at Colleen. Her eyes were very unusually blue. He loved that.

Logan brought Colleen up the stairs and over toward the large bar that was just off the kitchen. It had just about everything, even an ice cooler that continuously made fresh ice. Logan turned to face her. "So, what's your poison? Beer, wine, something more dramatic or exotic? I can make it if it involves pouring something straight into the glass," Logan said with a grin. His voice had a deep, raspy tone to it. And he hadn't shaven this morning or in the past few mornings. He just didn't care about such things. He was in a simple white t-shirt and blue jeans. Though he wasn't tall he was thick and solid. Natalya being well versed in combat would know he was dangerous. That and for some reason he looked alot heavier than he looked by how he moved.

"Colleen" followed Logan up the stairs towards the large bar that was near the kitchen. She saw Mrs. Stark in the kitchen making dinner. Surprisingly, it did smell quite delicious. She kept her focus on Logan though and couldn't help but notice that he looked heavier than he seemed by how he moved. She was curious about him. "Oh, I'll just take some Bourbon over ice," she responded with a smile. She took her glass after he prepared it and clinked her glass to his. "To new friends." She took a sip and then looked at him again. "So, why do they call you 'Wolverine'?"

Logan was in the middle of drinking his beer when she asked him the question. He had to clear his throat to answer. "It has to do with my charming personality," He said sarcastically. "So your into frozen shit, is that all your about?" He asked as Isabella looked at him. He wasn't really looking at her then though.

Natalya was now very curious about Logan. Clearly he was hiding something and she was determined to figure out what it was. She let it go for now though instead of pushing him. She wondered about his question though.

"What exactly do you mean?" she asked as she took another sip of her drink.

"What I mean is, do you do anything with a little 'heat' in it? Anything fun? Than just being a scientist?" Logan asked. "I was," He began but paused as Isabella looked their way then shifted back away from them. "Going to take a dip in the hot tub later and I'd like some company," He said. "We don't get alot of super hot Doctors runnin around this place," He said with his usual brudish flare.

"Colleen" grinned a little at Logan's comment, but she forced herself to blush a little bit too. "You're rather forward. I like that. I think something could be arranged."

A little while later dinner was ready. Because it was July and hot outside, Isabella had made poached white fish in tomato basil sauce with a Caprese salad. "Colleen" sat next to Logan and she smiled at Isabella. "This looks wonderful. I can't cook myself. I burn toast." Isabella eyed Colleen a little, but not in an obvious way. There was something about her that Isabella did not like or trust and it had nothing to do with the attention Tony and Logan were giving her. "Thank you. We're glad to have you here."

Tony sat next to Isabella like always and decidedly avoided looking at Colleen unless he was asked a question or spoken to by her. He could sense Isabella watching him and so for him, dinner was awkward. He had contemplated just grabbing his plate and going to eat in the lab. He had done that before but doing it now didn't feel like the right time.

"Did Serena go down easily or is she still being fussy?" Tony asked her softly. It was just a conversation between them.

Logan had asked her all sorts of questions. Where was she from. Who her parents were, if she had siblings. If she had been married. If she liked motorcycles. If she had ever been camping. And the list went on.

Isabella hated what was going on between Tony and herself. She missed what their relationship had once been like. She told herself that this was just because they were new parents and it would eventually settle down, but she continued to have the irrational fear that Tony was going to leave her for someone like Colleen. There was an awkwardness between them as they sat next to each other at the table and she saw him glance down the hall to where his lab was. She began to think he was going to just get up and leave and go eat there, but he didn't. Instead, he asked her about Serena. It was a way to break the ice between them and Isabella would take whatever she could get.

"She's still being fussy, but she eventually went down," she said back to him just as softly.

"Colleen" answered all of Logan's questions. Natalya was trying to keep all the information she was telling him straight in her head. She knew this was where she could possibly slip up later on and give herself away. Tatiana would not be happy with her if that happened.

"So, when are you going to tell me about yourself?"

"Well I 'm from Canada and I spent time as a lumberjack there. I had a girlfriend there, for a while...it was nice. And then I had a bout of memory loss," Logan said. "A pretty long one. A guy...a former soldier tried to make me into a weapon. I escaped but even after I escaped I didn't remember anything. I found Xavier's school and that was it. I was asked to become one of the X-Men," Logan said.

"Colleen" listened intently to what Logan told her. It was when he mentioned the X-Men that a light went off and she suddenly realized who he was. He was the one with the adamantium skeleton and claws. He had incredible healing factors as well. Natalya knew she needed to try and get some of his DNA as well. If she came home with both his and Steve Roger's DNA that would make Tatiana unbelievably happy. She didn't like to upset or fail her. She didn't want to have to endure the punishment she knew would come if she failed.

"Wow, you've had quite the life," Colleen said to him. "You seem very resilient." She lowered her voice so Tony and Isabella couldn't overhear what she was going to say, but they appeared to be having their own conversation. "Maybe later you can show me just how resilient you are."

Later that evening, Tony did not know exactly what time but he couldn't look at those maps anymore that night. He rubbed his eyes and headed to get a glass of bourbon then head to the bedroom. When he came in Isabella looked like she was sleeping so he tried to be quiet when he got ready for bed. He took off everything and put on his gray, silk pajama pants. He took another sip from his glass then slid into bed. The only light was the dim light from his bedside table lamp. He just sat there with his drink and looked over toward Isabella.

Logan was in his black swimming trunks. The hot tub bubbled as hot steam rose into the air. He had a cigar in his mouth and a 6 pack of cold beer by the tub. He waited impatiently for Colleen to join him.

Isabella had cleaned up from dinner and then fed and changed Serena again before rocking her for a while and putting her back into her crib after she fell asleep. Isabella had then prepared for bed and got under the covers. She had tried to read some, but she just couldn't pay attention to the book. She eventually just laid there with her eyes closed as she tried to fall asleep. She heard Tony come in a while later as she drifted somewhere between being asleep and being awake. She felt him get into bed and after a moment she opened her eyes and looked up to see him looking at her. She saw him shift towards her and she shifted and reached out and pulled him down to kiss her.

Natalya put on her red bikini and she tied her robe around her waist before walking down to the hot tub. She saw Logan there waiting for her. His eyes were fixated on her as she untied her robe and let it fall from her shoulders seductively to the floor. She then stepped into the hot tub. Her hair was pulled up to keep it from getting wet. If Logan looked closely, he might see the faintest hint of what appeared to almost be a symbol branded into her skin. What he wouldn't know is that it was the symbol of the SSB, used to identify agents.

Passion appeared once again in the Stark bed. Tony made love to Isabella in a way that would tell her that he was hers and there were no others that he wanted in the way he wanted her.

Logan's eyes were fixed on Colleen as she entered the room. He knew something amazing was underneath that robe and she did not disappoint went the robe slid down off of her shoulders. His eyes scanned over her body. Her breasts, her tummy, her hips and her legs. Her eyes and face were last but his focused on hers when she slid down into the hottub.

"Well Colleen, you certainly can make an entrance," Logan said as he reached over, twisted off a top of a beer bottle and handed it to her. "You are one sexy beast!" He said excitedly as he shifted back and put his arms over the edge of the tub. He held his cigar a moment and gave it a puff before he settled his arm back.

"Colleen" grinned at Logan's statement and she took the beer bottle he handed her. She took a sip and settled back. She looked over at him as he puffed on his cigar. She suddenly reached over and took it from him. She saw him watching her as she took a puff. She then handed it back to him. "Just so you know, I'm not looking for anything serious. I just want to have some fun."

Logan took back the cigarette with a grin and took another puff on it himself. "Then I think, you and I will get along just fine. You look smart sexy with your hair up like that," Logan said.

"I know once this thing gets going, you'll be very busy but, we have right now, if you want something to happen," Logan said as he just laid it all out there.

"Colleen" smiled at Logan and took another sip of her beer. She then put the beer down and moved closer to him. She moved so she was straddling him. She grinned down at him. "I think I would like that very much."