X-Men: Revolution.

Chapter 21: Unwanted.

Sweat poured down Vinnie’s face as she gasped for breath. She was doubled over with her hands on her knees for support. “I… feel like… I… just jumped… into… a pool!” She said, gasping between words. She reached up with her left hand to wipe the burning, salty, sweat from her eyes.

          “BLAZER! WHAT ARE YOU WAITIN’ FOR?! MOVE!” Logan screamed over the intercom.

It had been a little over a week since Vinnie returned to the mansion. Ever since her return, Logan and the others had been running her to death in the Danger Room. On top of the daily Danger Room sessions with the others, she was even required to attend one Danger Room session by herself… like the one she was currently in. The only downside was that her private sessions were normally the hardest… and Logan was always the instructor. But she never once complained. She was really trying her absolute hardest to be on her best behavior and please the Professor as well as the other instructors.

Vinnie inhaled deeply and took off running as she was demanded to do so. She did what she was told… exactly when she was told to do it. Everyone was slowly coming around to loving her all over again, even more than they did before. Even Logan tolerated her more, but she was trying her hardest to please him the most. He even started calling her a different name… a name that she adopted as her official X-men name.

          “BLAZER!” He yelled.

Vinnie rolled her eyes. She didn’t mean to, but her exhaustion seemed to take over her actions.

          “I saw that!” Logan added.

Vinnie stopped running when she noticed that the Danger Room began to transform back to its normal state. A confused expression crossed her face. Her private session was supposed to be three hours long, and it had only been two.

          “Get out of here. You did good. Figured I’d give you a break.” Logan said calmly. Vinnie looked up at him in complete surprise. She saw a faint smile stretch across his face.

That sort of news was exactly what Vinnie wanted to hear. She dropped to the floor in a heap, trying desperately to catch her breath. She was exhausted.

In a matter of minutes, Logan was standing over her with a glare on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. Vinnie rolled over onto her back so that she was facing up at him. A cheesy smile formed on her face.

          “Was it really that terrible?” Logan mumbled, stretching out a hand to help her to her feet.

She reluctantly reached out to grab it, and the instant she did, he pulled her to her feet in one quick motion. “Thanks.” She sighed heavily. “And, yeah, it was really tough this time.” Vinnie gasped.

          “Well, go grab a snack or something. You’ve been doing really well this week with all of your trainings, and I’m impressed at how well you’re able to control your powers. They’re developin’ nicely.” Logan half-grinned, patting her roughly on her shoulder. “Now go!” Logan nodded in the direction of the exit.

Vinnie turned immediately and headed out. It was almost the weekend. She had worked ridiculously hard to stay on the instructors’ good sides. The Danger Room sessions certainly kept her busy most of the time, but she was also helping out with extra chores and things around the mansion to keep her preoccupied.  But besides the instructors, Vinnie felt like no one else really like her. They did, of course, but everything was different. Especially with Evan, who really wanted nothing to do with her. Kitty and the others were always friendly, but they were so caught up in school that no one really had time to take a break. And then there was the Brotherhood gang. Pietro never even crossed Vinnie’s mind. It was almost as if she had forgotten all about it. But then again, she sort of had to. Thinking about him only brought heartache, so she refused to let him even cross her mind in the slightest.