Logan said. Except now, the voice that escaped those lips was not Logan’s, but the elder’s. “You would have made a great ally, girl, if you only made the right choice. But now, you leave me no choice but to kill you.”Logan rushed at her again, but Laura was ready. She took two steps toward him and leapt through the air, catapulting herself over him and to the other side. She used the torrial to make the knife appear in her hand, and slashed at the air where she thought the cord must be. She flipped and landed on her feet, and spun around to see the result of her attack. Logan just stood there, not ten feet away, smiling at her. There was a glimmer in his dark eyes. Laura tensed. She must have missed. Suddenly, a great roar of laughter erupted from Logan’s throat, and continued for what seemed like eternity.“You fool!” the elder spat through Logan’s lips. “Did you really think I would be so careless twice in a row? Maybe I was wrong about you. You’re not smart at all. You just got lucky!” And out of nowhere, Logan dashed right at her.Maybe it was the laugher, or maybe it was the mockery, but something threw her off, and Laura wasn’t ready for the attack. Logan crashed into her with his shoulder, sending her toppling backwards. As they fell to the ground, he tried to slash at her with the knife. Laura caught his wrist just in time, leaving the blade mere inches from her neck. Logan snarled, and again Laura saw the elder in his eyes. She struggled to keep the blade away from her. Her other hand was pinned down by Logan, rendering her own version of the blade useless. No matter what, though, this representation of Logan was stronger than she was. She felt her strength quickly fading, her grip on his wrist slowly slipping. If she lost hold, the sharp edge of the blade would implant itself into her bare skin. She focused on keeping it away from her, but Logan had the advantage, here. He was on top, while she was nearly helpless in a defensive position. The feel of his body against hers repulsed Laura. It was just as bad as if the elder were holding himself against her.Suddenly Logan let out a piercing shriek and threw himself off. Laura gasped, not understanding what happened. Another few moments, and her grip would have surely failed. That was when she spotted Gray. He was right beside her, his hulking mass moving with heavy breath. Laura looked over, and saw a deep red gnash along Logan’s side. That was where Gray’s claws had fallen. Logan was hunched over, rubbing his hands over the wound. This was her moment! Laura picked herself up, and was just about to launch herself at Logan, another deep laugh erupted from his throat.It sounded sick, twisted. It was the elder’s laugh again, but it was different from before. Logan straightened, and the most amazing thing happened. The wound Gray had afflicted healed right before Laura’s eyes. New skin sealed the gaping wound, stopping the outward flow of blood. Laura watched, entranced, as the whole wound closed, like something out of the X-Men. The only thing that would say anything had been there before was the bloodstain that lingered on the skin.Logan looked at her, and smiled cruelly. “Did you really think it would be so easy?”
