Chapter 231: Love, Lies, and Juggernauts
Logan woke up late the next day, his head thick and his body running on autopilot. He scratched absently at his stomach, stifled a jaw-cracking yawn, and shuffled barefoot down the polished oak halls of Xavier's mansion. His nose twitched at the familiar scents of polished wood, paper, and breakfast bacon still lingering from hours earlier.
Then another smell cut through it all — salt, not from the sea but from tears. His instincts flared, pulling him forward before he even thought.
"Hey, kid—" He bumped straight into Kitty Pryde, who was crying so hard her shoulders shook. Her eyes were red, cheeks streaked with tears. Without thinking, Logan caught her by the shoulders, steadying her.
"Whoa there. What's this? Who made ya cry?" His voice was rough, but his grip was gentle.
Kitty sniffled, choking out words between sobs. "P-Peter… he… he broke up with me. For another girl."
Logan blinked like someone had just socked him in the jaw. He leaned back, squinting at her. "That ruskie? Impossible. Didn't think the tin man had it in him to pull somethin' like that."
Kitty only buried her face in her hands and cried harder.
Before Logan could push further, a calm, measured voice entered the hallway. "X-Men, gather. We have a situation." Charles Xavier sat waiting in his chair, eyes far away, mind already reaching out across the globe.
Logan grunted. Perfect timing. He thought, clear as day, straight into Xavier's telepathic channel: Hey, Chuck. Do me a favor. Pair me up with the kid and the ruskie today.
Xavier's mind-voice was amused but cautious. Logan… what exactly do you plan to do?
Logan smirked, scratching at the stubble on his chin. Trust me.
The scene flipped, harsh and loud.
A bar in Manhattan had turned into a warzone. Glass shattered, bricks rained down, people screamed as Cain Marko — Juggernaut himself — waded through the wreckage like a human bulldozer.
"I said I wanted a DRINK, not watered swill!" Juggernaut roared, flipping a truck into a building for emphasis.
Logan, Colossus, and Kitty arrived at the edge of the chaos. Sirens wailed in the distance, but they wouldn't get here fast enough.
Logan jabbed a thumb toward the chaos. "Alright, Petey. You go hold him off. Keep him busy. Me an' the kid'll circle 'round."
Colossus, all muscle and loyalty, nodded immediately. "Done, comrade." He shifted into his steel form with a sound like stone grinding, and without hesitation, charged straight at Juggernaut.
The collision was like a thunderclap. Colossus hammered his fists against Juggernaut's chest, the impact shaking nearby buildings. But Juggernaut only grinned.
"Nice try, boy," Cain bellowed, and swung a meaty fist. Colossus went skidding back, carving trenches in the pavement.
From the sidelines, Logan ducked behind the ruined bar counter, spotting a whiskey bottle miraculously intact. He popped the cork with his thumb and took a swig.
Colossus, meanwhile, got launched straight through a wall. "Logan! Come quickly! I'm dying here!"
Logan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, shouted back lazily, "On my way, bub," and kept drinking.
Kitty stared at him in disbelief. "You're just— you're DRINKING? While Peter's getting pulverized?"
Logan gave her a sideways glance. "Thought you hated him after the break-up."
"I do!" she snapped, fists trembling.
Logan raised a brow, nose twitching. "Really? Then why're your legs shakin' like they're rarin' to run out there and help him?"
Kitty stammered, face red. "I-I'm just afraid, okay?"
Another crash. Colossus shouted again, desperation in his voice. "LOGAN! I'm really dying here!"
Logan took another swig and muttered, "You'll live."
Kitty jerked forward. "That's it, I'm going to help!"
Logan caught her wrist in a grip like iron. His eyes flashed, sharp. "Don't. Your powers don't mean squat against that flesh wall. Stay here. Obediently."
Colossus shouted again mid-brawl, sounding almost pitiful. "Logan! What did I do wrong? Tell me before I die so I can correct it!"
Logan snorted. "I didn't expect you to dump the kid, ruskie."
Colossus grunted, slammed into the ground hard enough to crater the street. "I… I can't just lie to myself, Logan! I don't like her anymore!"
Logan's nostrils flared. His senses caught something else. He muttered low, half to himself, "Then why do I smell jealousy rollin' off you, Petey?"
Juggernaut's fist came down again, smashing Colossus into another building. Debris rained everywhere. Colossus coughed steel dust, voice breaking. "Logan! I—I understand! Please… help me!"
Logan raised a hand like a teacher in a classroom. "What did you understand?"
Colossus, groaning, forced the words out. "I… I was just jealous! When I saw Katya with Douglas Ramsey. I'm just… a peasant. A farmer. I can't compare to Douglas' intellect, his… his shared interests with her. I felt inferior. So I thought distancing myself was the right choice for both of us."
Logan's grin was wolfish. "Finally saw it, bub."
That was his cue. Logan's body shifted, flowing into motion, instincts sharpening like blades. He slipped into Tiger Stealth, vanishing from Juggernaut's awareness like smoke in wind. His scent, his heat, his presence — gone.
He darted up Juggernaut's back, claws clicking against armor. With a snarl, Logan dug in and ripped Cain's helmet free, hurling it into the rubble.
Juggernaut roared. "You little—!"
But Logan was already moving. He launched himself forward, landing on his hands before flipping his body, legs snapping tight around Juggernaut's thick neck.
With a feral roar, Logan heaved — using the monster's own momentum to topple him sideways, straight into the pit of liquid cement at a nearby construction site.
Cain thrashed, but Logan held him down with brutal leverage until the cement swallowed him chest-deep. The chemical hiss of quick-drying mix solidified around Juggernaut's body, leaving only his furious red face above the hardened gray.
"RAAHH! You think this'll hold me?! I'll—"
"Yeah, yeah," Logan muttered, flicking cement dust off his jacket. "Save it for the cleanup crew."
Back at the mansion, the mood had softened.
Colossus, out of armor, stood before Kitty like a man on trial. His big hands twisted together nervously. "Katya… I am sorry. I was… cowardly. And blind. Please forgive me."
Kitty crossed her arms, sulking hard enough to dent steel herself. "You really hurt me, Peter."
"I know," he said quietly. "And I regret it more than any bruise Juggernaut gave me."
There was silence. Then Kitty let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head. "You're such an idiot." Her voice softened. "…But you're my idiot."
She lunged forward, hugging him tight. Colossus' shoulders sagged with relief as he returned the embrace.
Logan leaned against the doorway, arms folded, smirking. The kid peeled herself from Colossus long enough to dart over and hug him too, whispering, "Thanks, Logan."
Logan froze for just a second, awkward in the sudden affection, then patted her back gruffly.
I'm playin' love mentor for kids, he thought bitterly. But who the hell's gonna mentor me… with two ticking bombs waitin' to blow my life apart?
He lit a cigar, letting the smoke curl up toward the ceiling, his face unreadable in the glow.