DISCLAIMER: If you know them and love them (or hate them), they aren't mine. If you don't know 'em, they are.
DISTRIBUTION: If you would like permission to archive this story, please email: mydestinyfic@yahoo.com.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first attempt at an XFic. If you don't like it, don't read it. I'd like to thank the ladies of the WXF for their support and encouragement. Special thanks to Albertina, Chase and Joanne for beta'ing this for me. Big sloppy baby kisses to Cyn and baby Nicky for their special brand of ego-boostin'. And, finally, if you like it, please let me know. I've already got a few sequels spinning in my brain. Eve and Logan will not be stopped.
SPECIAL NOTE: Look Ma, all that thesis research came in handy for something!
Jean removed the stethoscope from the Professor's chest as the door to the study swung open to admit Eve.
"Am I interrupting?" Eve asked, her eyes flickering over both Jean and Logan.
"No," Jean said, "I was just making sure everything was ok. The Professor is over-tired, but generally seems to be in good health."
Xavier smiled, rebuttoning his shirt.
"I tried to tell her; but, she just wouldn't listen. She's a bit over-protective. They all are."
Eve nodded.
"Children frequently are. I'm sorry I left so abruptly before. There was something that I needed to take care of."
Xavier nodded.
"I know, Jean and Logan told me about Rogue. Are you ok?"
"Yes, of course," Eve said absentmindedly. "Oh! You mean were you right? Did her skin hurt me?"
"Yes, that," the Professor replied.
"You were right. I am perfectly fine. I feel slightly tired, but it's hardly anything significant. It's the same feeling we get if we're out in the sun for prolonged periods of time."
Jean toyed with her stethoscope, unsure of how to approach the woman with her questions. After a moment, she decided that the direct approach would probably be most appreciated.
"Eve," she said, "I was speaking with Logan earlier and we still have some questions that we'd like to have answered. I know that you've already told us a lot today, so I can understand if you would rather wait; but, would you be willing to give it a try?"
Eve nodded.
"I told you before that I would tell you all that I could. That has not changed."
She looked at the two mutants. Logan was staring at her in an appraising fashion. She found it slightly disconcerting. Here was, perhaps, her future meal and he was the one doing the evaluating. She briefly wondered what he made of her. The Professor and Jean were easy to read. They both had inquisitive, active minds and could not seem to keep their questions to themselves. Logan was different. He was quiet, and had only asked a few, well-placed questions throughout the morning. He would take everything in before making a final decision.
"What was it that you wanted to know?" she asked.
Jean looked at Logan, silently offering the first question to him. He shook his head, obviously preferring to allow her to direct the questioning.
As both she and Eve sat in the chairs across from Logan, Jean wondered how to begin.
"Ok," she said, "this is probably a really silly question, but it's been bugging me since I first saw you. I am very used to living with someone who has to wear sunglasses all the time," she grinned. "But, I don't usually see other people doing it. Why the glasses? Is it because you were underground and your eyes haven't adjusted to the light, or-" Jean paused, her question dropping off.
"It isn't a silly question," Eve smiled. "There is a good reason why I wear the lenses. It is not because of the light. We have excellent nocturnal vision, something like a cat. You see, we're predators, and our bodies have adapted into the role. Surely you have seen the way all creatures react to the eyes of the cobra, or a leopard, or a wolf."
Jean shot an amused glance at Logan.
"Our eyes are not all that different. You have heard of the hypnotic gaze that we are purported to have?"
Jean nodded.
"Is that it," Jean wondered aloud, "is it that that you're trying to avoid?"
Eve nodded.
"Actually, it's quite problematic, if you want to know the truth."
Jean thought for a moment.
"Would you be willing to show us? Just for a moment?"
Eve sighed.
"I'm not sure. It tends to make things confusing. People don't understand."
She paused as she noticed the disappointment on Jean's face.
"Alright," Eve said, "I'll do it, but only for a moment. Charles, you'd better lock the door. It's bad enough that there are three of you here. I do not want any more."
The lock in the door snapped into the closed position and Eve stared at it for a moment.
Jean grinned.
"I guess the Professor didn't tell you about all our talents?"
Eve shook her head.
"No, he only told me about Rogue and-" she stopped, not bothering to finish the sentence.
She looked at them all.
"You're sure you want to do this?"
Both the Professor and Jean nodded enthusiastically. Logan said nothing.
"And you?" Eve asked of him.
"I'm up for anything, at least once," he said.
Eve sighed.
"Just remember you said that."
She pulled off her glasses and slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze first fell on Jean, who gasped loudly at the pale silver gray orbs that were looking at her. Eve felt her pupils expand and contract, expand and contract. They were moving to the rhythm of Jean's heartbeat. She knew the other woman wanted to reach out to touch them, though she couldn't seem to will her body to move. Eve blinked her eyes closed.
Jean inhaled a sharp, painful breath and blinked frantically; she hadn't realized that she had stopped breathing.
Eve's gaze shifted to the Professor. She saw him clutch at the arms of his chair. Without the smoky lenses, she could see the weakness in him. Jean was right to be concerned for his health. The last few months had not been good to him. She closed her eyes quickly, unwilling to make the experience any harder on him than absolutely necessary. He too gasped, as his lungs fought for breath.
There was one person left in the room, and Eve wasn't certain she wanted to finish. The first two were different. Jean was a creature of science. She wanted to understand what Eve was capable of. For her, the experience had been a catalog of sights, sounds, feelings. For the Professor, it was just another way to understand the mind that he had not yet been allowed to fully explore. Logan was different. He lived by his senses. It was quite possible that he might see the experience as a challenge. Alpha-to-Alpha as it were. The experience was not completely unknown. In fact, it was often considered to be a valuable asset in a mate. A mate.
Eve opened her eyes involuntarily. Her line of thinking had surprised her. Where had it come from? She had only met him that morning.
He sat on the couch easily, his lids slung low over a pair of glittering dark eyes. He had the eyes of a predator himself. She saw his nostrils twitch involuntarily. His other senses were coming alive. She saw the blood rush erratically under his skin; the vein in his neck throbbed.
Logan felt a low rumble in his chest as he growled. Her eyes were calling to something inside of him. He felt the beast stretch its maw, jaws unhinged, looking for something. It howled in his head. He shook himself to maintain some semblance of control. His breathing grew erratic as her lips slowly parted, the glistening points of her canines fully visible. She wanted to consume him.
The feeling was mutual.
Jean stood abruptly, blocking his view of Eve.
Logan snarled, his claws coming unsheathed.
"Logan, stop!" The cry came from the Professor. "It's Jean!"
Logan stopped mid-lunge. What the hell, he thought. What is wrong with me?
He turned quickly, stalking toward the window. He took several deep calming breaths. What was he doing? It was dangerous. Too dangerous. A simple look, an exchanged glance, had brought out the animal inside of him, the thing he kept such a tight reign on.
Jean and the Professor stared at one another as Eve slipped her glasses back over her eyes.
"I tried to warn you," she said quietly. "But, everyone has to find out in their own way."
Jean cleared her throat.
"Wou- would it be the same if you looked at Scott without your glasses?" she asked.
Eve look at Scott without her glasses, Logan thought, not fucking likely. Not on my watch. Hell, the boy scout would probably whip off his own lenses and they'd all be blown to kingdom come.
Eve shrugged.
"It's hard to predict. It's a little different with everyone. Though," she said with a blush, "I must admit that such an extreme reaction is not typical. I must apologize for my behavior."
Logan frowned. Her behavior? What the hell did she have to apologize for? She wasn't the one who'd almost skewered Jean.
Jean smiled weakly.
"It's alright Eve, it's what I get for stepping into things that I don't fully understand," she said almost apologetically, clutching her right arm to her chest. "It's just a little strained, I'm sure it will feel fine before I even leave the room."
Logan stared at Jean's arm before pinning his gaze on the other woman.
"She pulled me out of the way, Logan. It's nothing, really."
Logan looked at Eve. Her face was expressionless, but her fingers were flexing rhythmically against the arms of her chair. He doubted she was even aware of her movement. Looking at the indentations her fingers were making in the leather, he found himself doubting that Jean's arm was simply a little sore. He'd let his guard down, again. In the face of the incident with Rogue, he'd forgotten that she truly was, just another predator.
It was a mistake that he would try not to repeat in the future.
He forced himself to walk across the room, calmly reclaiming his seat on the couch. Looking at Eve sitting directly across from him, he couldn't seem to forget the color of her eyes. He remembered thinking only a few hours ago that she was average looking. He figured it might be time to reevaluate that assessment. Maybe it was just his lust-fogged brain, but she wasn't looking too bad. He found himself wondering what she was hiding under the coat.
"Is there anything else you want to know?" Eve asked quietly.
Logan almost snorted. Was there anything else he wanted to know?
Jean gave him a dirty look.
"I don't suppose there's anything else quite as -- disturbing -- as that last one," Jean said with a wry grin. "But, I do have a few more questions."
"Surprise," Logan said sarcastically.
Jean ignored him and pressed on.
"Given the events of the last few moments, it seems like it would be a good idea to talk about the parts of the equation we haven't mentioned yet. Basically, especially since one of our own will be effected by this," she said, gesturing toward Logan, "I'd like to know more about the feeding process, not to mention the process of changing someone in to a vampire."
Eve nodded. She had expected that someone would ask this of her eventually.
"Feeding and turning are two completely different things. And, I think I would be remiss if I did not tell you that there is no way that someone can become a vampire simply from being bitten. That is another element of the lore that my people created to fool humans.
"For someone to become a vampire, they must consume the blood of a vampire. You see, the genetic structure of our species is passed on through our blood. It is not unlike one of your viruses. It lodges itself in the bloodstream and flows through all the internal organs, altering their composition. It changes the physiology. But, it is not the same as being born with the blood because it cannot infiltrate to the genetic level. It cannot truly alter human or mutant DNA. I suppose, if one tried hard enough, they might even find a cure for it. Of course, they'd have to find a willing test subject and that's not terribly likely."
She grinned.
"Feeding is different. Of course, you must know that I do not speak from experience; but, I know enough about it that I can give you most of the information that you will need. Actually, the decision about going ahead with this plan cannot be made if you do not have this information."
Eve looked at Logan.
"It is vital that you understand that what I am about to tell you is not some grand romantic notion. You've seen what my eyes can do; and, I know that you respect that power. Feeding is very much the same.
"When a vampire feeds, it releases a chemical and an enzyme into the blood stream of it's victim. The enzyme prevents the blood from clotting, thus speeding the feeding process. The chemical serves to relax the victim. It has a numbing effect. It is also known to have aphrodisiac qualities. It prevents to victim from struggling and attempting to escape while the vampire feeds.
"The problem comes in when the victim is not killed during the feeding process. The chemical is very much like a drug. It is addictive. If the victim is not killed, they may crave a repetition of the experience. Again, in the past, this was a survival mechanism, allowing vampires to feed from the same victim multiple times if they wished. It passes eventually, once the chemical is completely absorbed by the blood. However, some people have been known to search out repeat performances for the rest of their life.
"You have to understand that this is an absolute possibility," she said to Logan.
"Yes, Jean," Eve said, watching the wheels turning in Jean's head.
"I was just thinking. Logan doesn't respond the same way that the rest of us do to drugs, alcohol, any foreign substance. It may be that the chemical reaction from feeding might not effect him the way it would if it were me or the Professor or anyone else involved. So, in a weird way, I think the Professor is right. I think Logan is the only possible choice. What do you think, Logan?"
He sighed, rubbing his hand across his chin.
"What I want to know is how often do we have to do this thing? Once you get the real deal, you goin' to be satisfied with a slab of bloody steak?" he asked Eve, a challenge in his eyes.
She thought for a moment.
"Honestly," she said, "I don't have the answer to that question. I've never fed. I don't know. I could crave the blood just as much as those poor stupid humans crave the bite. It is the danger of the unknown. I can tell you that most vampires can survive for years without a drop of blood. But, it is likely that eventually I will need more. The Professor believes that Jean may be able to come up with something, perhaps transfusions."
Logan snorted.
"You're kidding me, right?"
Eve shook her head.
"No, it is what we have discussed."
"Darlin', if this little exercise has done anything, it has shown me that deep down under whatever maternal façade you're tryin' to hide behind, you're a predator. That's what you people are. You were born with all the right equipment; and, if you think you can find a way around it, you're deluding yourself. I saw you staring at my neck like you'd just been on the trail for a few years and finally heard the dinner bell. If you need it again, some wimpy transfusion isn't going to cut it. Just like me, you live and die by your senses, all of them. You can't change that, no matter how hard you try."
No one said anything. He was right and they all knew it.
"Well," Jean said, standing up from her chair, "I don't know about you, but I think I need a break from all this seriousness. Eve, if you want to come with me, I can see if I can find you some comfortable clothing."
Eve looked at the Professor. He looked tired. It would be best to put this away for a little while.
"Yes, that would be nice. I'd like to give Charles his coat back."
Jean nodded.
"Professor, Logan, we'll meet up with you later."
Eve stood and walked toward the door with Jean. As they approached, the lock slid back into place and the door opened. Eve caste one more look over her shoulder at Logan before the door slid shut behind her.
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