Kindred Souls _Kindred Souls_ By Gambit _ _ _Chapter Two_ _ _ _ _ Jesse was in hell, or she thought that the nightmare that she was living through was hell. It had everything in it, all the way down to the scientists grafting the metal to her bones. And oh, the pain. That was the worst part. She remembered that she wish she could pass out from it, or die. Either of those two would have been more acceptable than *this.* Jesse sat straight up in bed and looked at the seedy motel room. For the first time, she could really *see *it and *smell* it. The smell was the worst. The place obviously didn’t a decent maid service. She couldn’t believe that she didn’t notice any of the smells that were in the room the night before. *Logan said that my senses were going to kick in today. *She thought, slipping out of bed. The girl looked over at Logan as he slept. It looked like it was a fitful sleep. Then she gave a casual glance at the clock. It was four thirty in the morning. *A long hot shower, then after that, if Logan ain’t acting any better, I’m waking him up.* * * She began looking through her bags as quietly as possible. She didn’t know just how quiet it was. It took very little to wake up Wolverine, and she was pulling it off fairly easily. The thing that Jesse noticed the most was the fact that, when she walked, it felt like her feet were on air, the only reason she knew that they weren’t was because she saw them firmly planted on the ground. With a puzzled face, she walked into bathroom of their room, holding up a hand at the glare of the light. *Definitely going to be getting some shades. *She thought, a low growl in the back of her throat. The growl startled her. *Logan warned me ‘bout that. I think I can get through this. Logan said that he would help me. *She thought. She undressed in front of the mirror and gave a slight gasp. Her body . . . Her body was almost completely different. It still looked like a human body, but it was covered with sinewy muscles that made her look like she had been in aerobics since she was four. And the fact was that she had never worked out once in her entire life wasn‘t helping her thoughts any. The muscles looked feminine, but they held no doubt that she was stronger. *Gonna have to test out my strengths later . . . And a beer, Canadian if possible. *She thought as she got into the shower stall. She stopped dead in her tracks before she got into the shower at that last thought. *I don’t even like beer. What the hell is going on? *Was her thought as she turned the water on as she got into the shower and let it wash over her body. She readily admitted that she felt better on this morning than she had in her entire life. *If I could only quit worrying . . . *Her thoughts trailed. She remembered being caught by the scientists that had done all those painful things to her. She was what the people in the neighborhood called a street-brat. A local thief that was very lucky and exceptional in her gifts. One of her friends said that she could steal a Cross off a Nun’s neck and the lady would never notice it. Not that she would do that, though. Jesse’s main targets were people that she thought had too much money for there own good. She never could still from the poor, that would always make her feel guilty. *I guess I’m going to leave all that behind if I go with Logan.* * * Logon, she really couldn’t understand the man. It was almost as if he had two personalities. The Wolverine and Logan. She liked Logan the best, but she saw the need to have Wolverine close by. Jesse knew what he meant when he was talking about the berserker rage. She could feel it, lurking in her mind, waiting for a situation that would cut it loose. The anger, suspicion. It was almost as if she didn’t trust anyone, save Logan. She was questioning all of her gang friends that were on the street. A new start. That was exactly what she needed. And Logan could give that to her. And it wasn’t exactly like she didn’t like him. After all, him and her had been through almost the exact same thing. She felt a kinship with him that she had never felt with anyone else. And that suited her just fine. And she was positive that Logan felt the same way about her. The reason she was so positive was for the fact that she was an Empath. She could feel his emotions. He cared for her as much as she cared for him. And that was deeply. What puzzled her the most was how two people could trust one another so easily in such a short amount of time. Jesse knew that Logan hated secrets, so she was planning on telling him that she was an Empath as soon as she got a chance on this day. Jesse let the water splash over her until she started to feel it get cold and then she slipped out. Grabbing a towel, the girl dried off her well built, sinewy body. Her stomach growled loudly as she did this. It seemed that she kept getting hungrier and hungrier since she had left from being those bastards’ lab-rats. She put on a black pair of Wranglers and tucked a pure black t-shirt into them. Then she threw on a Faded Glory shirt that was about three sizes too big. She didn’t bother buttoning that all the way up, she only buttoned the three at the bottom, and rolled the sleeves up mid forearm. She slid on her black cowgirl boots and she was out of the bathroom. As she exited the bathroom, the one thing that she felt came to her. It was described with one word: Wired. She felt like she could run a marathon. Everything that she looked at, smelled or sensed, all seemed to have a new quality now. And to top it off, her protectiveness of Logan had seemed to triple over night. She looked over at her friend, he looked like he was sleeping peacefully, so she let him be. The growling in her stomach persisted, though. She went over to the stuff she bought and pulled out one of her pens and a piece of paper, deciding to leave Logan a note, telling him where she would be and told him that she borrowed a twenty from his wallet. Jesse never felt so restless in her life, so she didn’t even consider taking the truck or bike. She wanted to walk the energy off, it was just as simple as that. She was glad that the Diner opened at 5:00 AM, though. “Goin’ somewhere, Kid.” A growly, if not sleepy voice, made her jump just a little. It was hardly noticeable to anyone else. Well, maybe Logan noticed. “Yeah, my stomach beginning to thing that my throat’s been cut,” She replied with mishief. “I was gonna head down to the diner and get something to eat.” “Give me five and I’ll go with ya . . . Need some caffeine.” He replied as he got out of the bed and headed for the bathroom. It took Logan a total of about four minutes to get ready. “After we eat, I was planning on heading back to Westchester today. That all right with you?” He watched as the girl nodded. *Something’s different about her today. She looks . . . Stronger. *He thought as he gave her a once over. “Will you do me a favor, Kid?” He asked, still looking her over. “Yeah?” “I want you to punch me in the shoulder as hard as you can.” Jesse let out a growl that was so fierce that it even surprised her. “I ain’t gonna hit ya, Logan.” She ground out, teeth clenched. “I’ll heal quicker than ya can say “Healing Factor”, Kid. I don’t get hurt that easily. A punch to the shoulder isn’t going to hurt that much. Besides, this is part of yer trainin’, and you already promised you’d do whatever I asked. Now I’m asking you to hit me in the damn shoulder.” He told the blue eyed girl, and there was an edge to his voice. “Don’t hold back either. Jesse’s shoulders slumped in resignation. But then she drew back, waited until Logan said that he was read, and nailed him the shoulder as hard as she could. It actually made the older man go back a few steps, which surprised her. “Just what I thought, kid. You have the strength of about two or three grown men . . . Though, you still ain’t a match for this one.” He added cockily. “Yeah, yeah. Can we get something to eat now, O’ Great One?” She replied cheekily. ******************************************* _7:15 PM_ _ _ “Ah man, you didn’t tell me it was a school Logan.” Jesse exclaimed with an almost whine. “I hate school, that was part of the reason I stayed *far, far *away from foster care.” “Mmm. Look where that got ya, Kid.” Logan replied with stone cold Logic that wenyt perfectly with the smirk on his face. “’Sides, it ain’t an ordinary school.” He added. They were only about an hour away from the school. *And Marie . . . *Logan’s thought’s added.