by Perri Smith
It was two days later when Jordan Raines finally opened her eyes again.
It had been a long two days; everyone was trying to get all the stories straight, from the kidnapping and Wolverine's injury to the rescue operation and the rather amazing assault on and destruction of Tam's headquarters, which had involved Boomer's time bombs, a well-timed earthquake compliments of Rictor, and some equally well-placed grenades courtesy of Bishop. Even after hearing three different versions, Siryn still didn't have it straight, and was pretty sure she never would.
But Jordan and Wolverine had been the only real casualties; even Siryn's leg was healing quickly. She had been trading off shifts at Delphi's side with Jean and Logan, running a small bet with herself on what Delphi's first question would be when she woke; not surprisingly, she won.
"Where's Wade?" Delphi asked groggily.
Siryn smiled at her from her bedside chair. "He decided discretion was the better part o' valor, and deserted the premises after bein' assured that both o' us would survive our experiences."
Delphi returned the smile, closing her eyes. "Good. It's a stone bitch to heal gunshot wounds, especially if they come from Cable. He uses big guns."
"He does indeed. O' course, they do have their uses as well. "
"Yeah, I seem to remember that. Do I even have to ask where I am?"
"The Institute infirmary."
"That's what I thought," Delphi groaned as she sat up. "Tops my list of places I don't want to be." She swung her legs out of the bed and swayed slightly, the blood draining out of her face.
"Don't do that!" Siryn said, jumping up. "Hank said y'r supposed to stay in bed for another few days. Ye almost died, Jordan."
"So what else is new?" Delphi shrugged. "I've been stupid before."
She stood up and almost fell over. "Oh, I don't deserve this hangover," she groaned, running her hands through her hair. "Where are my clothes? What time is it?"
"It's almost 2 a.m.," Siryn sighed, giving up and starting to look for clothes.
A pair of Jubilee's leggings, a black T-shirt and a phone call to the cab company later, the two women headed down the stairs. Delphi made it about halfway before she had to stop to rest.
Siryn refrained from saying 'I told you so' and sat next to her, commenting, "Sneakin' out in the middle of the night. It suits y'r style."
"Ah, hell, I'm gettin' predictable." Delphi didn't sound too disturbed. They sat in companionable silence for several minutes, before Delphi spoke.
"You know, he cares about you more than just about anything -- up to and including me."
Theresa wasn't particularly surprised by Delphi's statement, but they were still painful words to hear. She leaned back against the stair behind her. "Does he? I suppose that's why he helped set up m'teammates and m'friends."
"You don't know everything that was goin' on, Terry."
"What aren't you tellin' me, Delphi?" Theresa repeated Wolverine's question from several days before. Just like the last time, Delphi took a breath and started to speak, then stopped. Theresa frowned. "Delphi, please. I have t' know."
Delphi bit her lip, the indecision in her face clear even in the dim light. Looking at her, Siryn realized for the first time that Jordan Raines was only a few years older then herself. And for a brief moment, she could almost see the shadows Dephi was fighting; had been fighting for God-only-knew how long.
The moment passed as Delphi came to a decision. This time, she answered Theresa's question. "He didn't know what the target was, going in." As though a dam had burst, the words came spilling out. "He was hired to train the Genoshans and the various mercs Tam hired."
"Who hired her?" Siryn asked.
Delphi shook her head. "I don't know. I tried to Look a few times, but things on Genosha are. . . strange. They keep changin', confusin' me. There's something seriously strange goin' on down there."
She closed her eyes, her head rolling back against the wall in a posture eerily similar to Wade's. "Anyway, Nyct and Rebound were in charge of recon; he was training. He didn't find out what they were after until he'd been in too long -- they could have kept going without him, he'd become expendable. He couldn't stop it, so he did the next best thing. He called me."
"What did ye intend to do? And why did he need ye t' do it?"
"You think those explosives got there by themselves? I had to bring 'em in with me, and show him how to set 'em. Damn martial arts types don't learn other ways to play, and his idea of subtle is a grenade," she complained, shaking her head in disgust. "It took us over a week t' duck around enough t' get those damn things planted -- we were goin' t' blow the joint and run. Then Nyct and Rebound got careless on the first recon and, well..." Her eyes opened and she lifted her head just enough to look at Theresa, a grin flickering across her face. "You know, I thought Wade was goin' t' have kittens when he found out they'd grabbed you. He almost blew the whole game right then."
"He was... upset?"
"He almost went for Rebound's throat. Literally."
Siryn bit her lip, staring out into the darkness at the bottom of the stairs, weighing the truth in Delphi's words. She wanted to believe them, to believe Wade actually cared. But still... "How can I trust him?" she wondered sadly.
"You can't," Delphi answered, the words no less harsh for the gentleness in her voice. "Care about him all you want, Terry -- Lord knows I've never found a way not to. But don't trust him. Not ever."
"How can ye do one, and not the other? Love without trustin'?"
"Easiest thing in the world, Terry." Jordan Raines' smile was bittersweet, an old woman's expression on a young woman's face. "Easiest thing in the world."
With that, she stood, and started back down the stairs. Theresa trailed silently behind her, following her out the door and down the long driveway. "Can ye wait here alone?" she asked at the gate.
"Yeah," Delphi shrugged. "No problem."
"Take care o' y'rself."
"Always. You do the same." She looked up at Siryn. "Tam got away. She's still out there."
"You're sure?" The question was more for form than anything; Siryn didn't really doubt her.
"I'm sure."
Siryn nodded, then turned to go. Before she was very far past the gate, she heard Wolverine's voice. "Where ya headin'?"
She turned around, and saw him standing a few feet from Delphi, his back to Siryn. She wasn't particularly surprised to see him, but she froze anyway. Both of them knew she was there; she was far enough away they could both pretend she didn't exist. And she had no intention of missing this.
Delphi didn't look surprised by his appearance either. "Nowhere, really. Away from here."
He started to say something -- who knew what? The cab's arrival stopped him before he could.
Delphi opened the door to the cab, then turned back to him. "Why don't you go inside, Logan?" she asked out of the blue. "You're lucky, you've got friends there waitin'."
"I got my reasons."
She kept looking at him with a steady gaze, as if she could See right through him. Then she shook her head, the shadow of a smile flickering over her lips. "They're not very good ones."
To Siryn's shock, Delphi leaned over, brushing a kiss across his cheek, then turned and slipped into the cab, swinging the door closed behind her.
Almost as an afterthought, she rolled down the window and stuck her head through. "Thanks for not killin' my brother. I wouldn't have liked killin' you to get even. Too messy."
Logan half-laughed as the cab rolled away, the sound a curious mix of amusement and frustration. "Next time, Jordie," he said quietly. "Next time."
He watched the cab until it turned the corner and went out of sight. Then, without looking at Siryn, he disappeared back into the darkness. She watched him go, more confused now then she had been before Delphi woke up. She sighed, then turned and headed back up the drive into the mansion. Wolverine was right; there would be a next time.
She couldn't wait.
Finis
* Wolverine and Deadpool last ran into each other - literally - in Wolverine #88 -- Parenthesizin' Perri
* Check out the second Deadpool Limited Series for this story and
** X-Force #15 for this one -- Pawin'-through-back-issues Perri
* All of this stuff took place in XParaphrasin' Perri -Tinction Agenda. -
* Banshee totaled the place in Phalanx Covenant: Generation Next -- Property Damage Perri