Haruka's Fanfiction

Dare to Blame - an X-Men: Evolution fic

By Haruka (haruka@ymail.com)

--

At first I thought it was all Evan's fault. After all, he dared me to do it. Peer pressure can be a terrible thing and I have a low resistance factor.

Especially when the dare involved riding Logan's custom motorcycle.

"I'm telling you, Kurt, he left the keys in the ignition!" Evan told me as he skated up the driveway toward the garage. I was late getting home from school because of gymnastics practice, but apparently Evan had been home long enough to make that important discovery. He didn't even give me a chance to turn off the image inducer that I kept on all day at school.

"And you're sure he's not home?" I asked, interested in spite of myself.

"No, man, he and the Prof are both out in the X-Van." Evan rode his skateboard into the garage. I decided to beat him to the bike and willed my teleportation power to kick in. An instant later, I was beside the motorcycle and Evan was skidding to a stop by me.

"I almost hit you, don't do that!" he complained.

"Wow!" I murmured, fingering the keys in the bike's ignition with reverence. Logan _never_ left his keys behind like this, so he must have been in a hurry.

"Have you ever driven it before?" Evan asked.

"Not alone, but I've ridden with Logan and he's taught me to ride it," I answered. I allowed myself a brief but exciting daydream of whizzing down the highway, my hair and tail flying in the breeze behind me.

"Why don't you do it, Kurt?" Evan urged. "Take it for a spin while you've got the chance!"

"Why don't YOU?" I demanded.

"I've never driven a bike this big before," Evan admitted. "The most I've ever done is drive a moped. Besides, I don't have a license."

"I don't have the kind you need to drive one of these, either," I told him, then ran my hand over the handlebars.

"That only matters if you get caught," Evan said sagely.

I put my bookbag aside and got onto the bike. I felt powerful just sitting there with it not even turned on -- I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to actually drive it.

"Go on." Evan grinned. "I dare you."

"Evan Daniels," I gave him a deadpan look, "do you think I'm so easily manipulated that a simple dare from a friend could get me to do something foolhardy and reckless?"

"Yes," Evan said frankly.

I eyed the bike longingly. "Welllll …," I said slowly, " maybe just this once!" I turned on the engine and it roared to life. Logan always kept it perfectly tuned up so it sounded great.

"Oh, wunderbar!" I said excitedly. "This is going to be a blast! Hop on behind me!"

Evan didn't exactly jump at my invitation, so I grinned mischievously at him. "I _dare_ you!"

He gave me one of those looks that said he knew I had him, then proved it by straddling the bike behind me. "Let's ride!" he said.

And we did.

--

Riding Logan's powerful bike down the highway was nothing like riding it with Logan in the driveway. When Logan was teaching me, he was always ready to take over in an instant and I knew it. Evan had no such inclinations -- he just whooped and cheered as I swerved in and out of traffic (oh, and swore whenever my tail flapped into his face.)

"This is so great!" I cried.

"Whoo-hoo!" Evan hollered.

I checked my fuel and there was plenty, so I gunned the engine and passed the car in front of me.

Then I heard the siren.

"Who are they after?" I asked Evan.

"Uhh," he said uneasily, "I think it's us."

"But I signaled!" I exclaimed. "And I'm doing the speed limit!" I double-checked. Yes, I was still fine, so what was the problem?

The cop car was directly behind us now, lights flashing. I swore in German and began pulling over.

"How dead are we?" Evan asked.

"How should I know?" I answered waspishly. "I don't know why he's stopping us!" I turned off the engine and waited while the policeman got out of his car and approached us. I saw people stare from their own cars as they drove by and felt my face heating up.

"What seems to be the problem, officer?" I asked politely. "Wasn't I within the limit?"

"Yes, son, you were," the cop said seriously. "But both of you were riding that motorcycle without helmets."

Auugh! I wanted to kick myself AND Evan for forgetting to put on helmets -- Logan would kill us if he found out! Not that he wouldn't kill us just for taking the motorcycle in the first place.

It occurred to me for the first time that that possibility just became far more real now that we'd been stopped by the police. What if he asked for my -- ?

"License?" the cop asked.

I groaned internally. I didn't have the special license required for driving a motorcycle! Could things get any worse?

The X-Van came into view. It was going to pass, then veered off and pulled over.

"We're dead," Evan murmured. I nodded miserably.

Logan got out of the van. "Are you two all right?!" he demanded, jogging over.

"For now," I said, attempting a feeble smile.

Logan growled as he looked at his bike. "You've got THAT right," he said darkly.

"You know these kids?" the officer said. "They were riding this bike without helmets."

"That's my bike," Logan said. "And yeah, I know 'em."

The policeman looked like he was going to say something else when he suddenly stopped and headed back to his patrol car.

"Thanks, Chuck." Logan waved toward the X-Van as the policeman drove away. Professor Xavier nodded from the van's driver seat. At least with his psychic abilities, we were guaranteed the cop wouldn't remember anything.

Too bad we couldn't say the same about Logan.

--

Neither Evan nor I had much to say on the way home. I don't think the condemned are ever very chatty. We would have answered questions put to us if any were asked, but none were. I guess it wasn't necessary, since it was pretty obvious what we'd done. Just like it was obvious by the glower on Logan's face that his silence was a temporary thing.

Evan gulped when we arrived at the Institute to find Ororo waiting outside for him. "Where have you been, Evan?" she asked before he'd even managed to step out of the van. "We were supposed to start your training exercise over an hour ago!"

"Sorry, Auntie O," Evan said quickly. "We can go do it now." He hurried toward the door.

"He and Kurt were joyriding on my motorcycle," Logan told Ororo. "_Without_ helmets."

Ororo's blue eyes widened, then her expression changed to one that made me glad Evan was her nephew and not I. "I'm very sorry, Logan," she told him. "I assure you, I'll have a little 'talk' with him."

I didn't think Evan would like the emphasis on that word 'talk' if he'd still been close enough to hear it.

"Thanks, Ororo, I appreciate that. I've got THIS one to deal with."

Guess who 'that' one was? Here's a clue -- Logan's heavy hand fell on my shoulder a moment later. I looked toward the Professor in desperation.

"Do you wish to use the Library, Logan?" he asked. I pressed my lips together. This wasn't the kind of assistance I was hoping for.

"Yeah, thanks. Come on, Elf."

Alarm bells went off in my mind. Why were we going to the Library? I supposed Logan planned on yelling so loudly that he didn't want the other kids to hear -- the Library was well away from the bedrooms. I really wasn't looking forward to this. I wondered what punishment would follow the yelling -- another month of waxing the X-Jet and washing the uniforms? Being grounded until I graduated from high school? Worse yet -- lifetime private training sessions with Logan?!

I usually like the Library. It's big and inviting and we often hold important briefings there. The only other time I'd been inside it with the door closed was when the Professor scolded and punished me for disobeying him that time with Tabitha. And now Logan was closing the door.

"I'm sorry for taking the bike, Logan," I said, hoping to head off the worst of the tongue-lashing before it began. "And for not wearing a helmet -- that was REALLY stupid."

"Stupid?" Logan faced me, his expression angry. "Try insane! You've got maybe an hour of training in riding that bike _in the driveway_ and with me riding with you! What on Earth made you think it was safe for you to take it out on the freeway?! Or even legal! You don't have that class of license! If we hadn't come along when you were with that cop, you and the Porcupine would have been taken to Juvie Hall! And they would have felt your fur when they searched you, kid."

He was right about all of it, so there was nothing I could say in my defense, except, of course, the wrong thing. Which naturally, I had to say.

"Evan dared me to do it," I mentioned, then regretted it instantly.

Logan's expression changed to something resembling disbelief, then determination. "Okay, fine," he said tightly. "If reason and common sense won't penetrate that thick skull of yours, we'll just cut to the chase where I make my point on your OTHER end!" He took hold of my arm and hauled me bodily toward the sofa.

"Logan, no!" I cried, struggling against his adamantium grip. He couldn’t mean that the way it sounded! "You can't do this!"

"Watch me," he said frankly, and sat down on the sofa. He began unfastening my pants.

"Please, Logan, not my pants, _please_!" I was panicking now. It was bad enough he was apparently planning to spank me -- but without my _pants_?!

"We could have lost you today," he said grimly as he pulled my pants down to my knees. "I have to make sure you remember this for a good long time." He gave my arm a yank and I fell face-down over his lap.

I hadn't seen the world from this position for years and _never_ with Logan holding me there. Before I could begin to register it, I felt him take hold of the rim of my shorts.

"NO!" I protested and began struggling in earnest. "You can't!"

"Knock it OFF, Kurt!" he shouted at me, hurting my sensitive ears. My tail, which he couldn't see because my inducer was still turned on, smacked him in the face.

He growled and reached down for my inducer, switching it off. Then he grabbed my underwear again and yanked them down to join my pants around my knees. My tail got caught in them and he had to release my waist to pull it free. I could have done a couple of things at that point, like made a run for it or even teleported away. But for the first time that day, common sense _did_ prevail.

Bravery didn't, though. "Logan, PLEASE, don't do this!" I begged. "I promise I won't ever touch your bike again -- I won't even BREATHE on it!"

"Hold this and don't let go or I'll take off my belt," he warned, pushing my tail forward toward my face. I reached up and took hold of it while he tightened his grip on my waist again. The fur on my exposed bottom ruffled slightly in the breeze and I clenched the muscles as if I could make it smaller.

"Just remember, Elf," Logan said, and his tone had become gentler, "I wouldn't do this if I didn't care about you."

Tears filled my eyes but I had no more time for sentimentality. Logan's hand descended on my backside sharply.

"YAAAAAHHH!" I cried out in surprise. Mein Gott, it hurt! It didn't sound like skin-on-skin because of my short blue fur -- more like plumping a pillow. Only my butt felt the impact all right, and that of the whack that came after it, and the one after THAT.

Maybe Scott Summers, leader of the X-Men, could have taken a spanking from Logan without making a sound (yeah, right, as if Scott would ever end up in this position!) Well, not me. It was as if every blow forced the cries right out of me. Also the tears. Ditto the squirming. And the kicking.

Oh, who am I kidding? I acted like a baby.

"Logan, please -- OW! Ohh, it hurts so much, please don't -- AHHH! Let me go, that's enough -- OUCH! WAHHH!"

At least now I could be grateful that we were in the Library and away from others -- if I cared at that point. But all that concerned me was how Logan's punishing hand covered every inch of my bottom, smacking it in one spot several times in succession before changing to another for a few more whacks. I'm sure my butt would be fire-engine red if the inducer were still on.

I felt Logan shift his right knee slightly and wondered if he was about to release me, but he didn't. Instead he raised that knee, and suddenly my bottom felt even more of a target and I felt less like a fifteen-year-old and more like five. I guess I sounded that way, too.

"NOOOO!" I wailed, my two-toed feet kicking frantically. Logan began walloping my sensitive undercurves mercilessly, making me howl even more loudly than before. Tears streamed down my face and dripped on the floor. On one particularly stinging spank, I threw both hands back to cover my burning backside, realizing too late that I'd let go of my tail. I made it stop before it could hit Logan in the face and pulled it back into my hands, whimpering as I looked back at him pleadingly.

"Don't worry, I won't use the belt," he said, much to my relief. "But because you put your hands in my way, I'm adding five more to the count."

I groaned loudly, but it changed to a shriek as the spanking resumed with several more hard whacks. I finally broke down completely and sobbed, too worn out to even kick or squirm anymore. That was when Logan rubbed my back and then my hair.

"Okay, Elf," he said gently. "We're finished with that."

I hiccupped and sniffled as he helped me stand, then gritted my teeth while I got dressed, avoiding Logan's eyes. I was so embarrassed. I wanted more than anything else to teleport up to my room and never come out. It's not like Logan would ever want to see me again after what I did, anyway.

Then I felt his hands on my shoulders as he stood in front of me. "Look at me, Kurt."

I did, reluctantly. He studied me almost fondly. No, _definitely_ fondly. It startled me.

"You're real special to me, kid," he told me. "I didn't even want to think about what could have happened to you today, but I _had_ to. And then I had to make sure you'll never take that a risk like that again. Do you understand?"

"You mean you're not mad at me?" I asked. My voice sounded thick and weird.

"Nah, not anymore," he said, and pulled me against his broad chest. "I'm just glad you're okay."

I rubbed my bottom ruefully. "THAT is up for debate, mein freund."

"You had that coming," he said seriously, then did the most astonishing thing. He kissed my forehead. I smiled at him gratefully.

"Okay, now you can go upstairs," he told me. "And no driving anything for a month."

My mouth fell open. "After that spanking I have to be punished MORE?"

"You could always wax the X-Jet -- "

"Nein!" I held up my hands to ward off the very thought. "Consider me a pedestrian!" I paused and then winked. "Well, in the vehicular sense of the word, anyway!" I teleported away before the swat Logan aimed at me could connect.

--

I found out later that Evan got spanked, too, only he got it with a heavy wooden hairbrush of Ororo's. We couldn’t compare war wounds very well, what with his dark skin and my fur, but two detailed descriptions later we decided we'd come out pretty evenly. We even laughed when we found out that we'd both blamed each other over the dares. In the end, though, we decided to place the blame where it rightfully belonged.

With Logan, of course. After all, HE left the keys in the ignition ….

--

(2002)

X-Men: Evolution belongs to Marvel.

This fic is not to be re-posted.