Fic: The Main Event - Chapter Nine
Logan wasn’t too surprised when he came back out of the bathroom and discovered that he was alone again. It hadn’t even taken the whole five minutes he’d stood under the spray of the cold shower for him to realize that he shouldn’t have yelled and cussed at Marie. Now he’d have to find her, apologize and pray like hell that she’d forgive his outburst.
He quickly got dressed and started to walk over to the guy’s cottage. Turning the corner, he was just in time to watch a black SUV pulling away from it.
“Marie!” He cried out futilely as the vehicle moved further away.
Wraith was standing on the front porch of the main cottage as Logan went running past in a hopeless effort to catch up to the rapidly disappearing SUV. He slid on a patch of ice and wound up sprawled on the ground, which effectively ended his pursuit.
“What the hell did you do this time?” Wraith asked him.
“Oh, the usual fuck up,” Logan admitted as stood up and started back toward his own cottage.
“That bad, huh?”
Logan just kept walking.
Because Marie had left in the private jet and didn’t send it back for him, at the end of the week he and Wraith rode back to the city with Pyro, Gambit and Pete.
~*~*~*
Just like when Logan had made the insensitive gold digger comment at the fundraiser, once again Marie wasn’t answering his calls - but this time when he’d filled up her voice mailbox, he did finally receive a return call … from Scott.
“She wants me to file a restraining order against you,” Scott informed him. “What happened between you two at Lake Placid?”
“She didn’t tell you?” Logan asked - genuinely surprised that apparently Marie hadn’t divulged all the specifics to Scott.
“She just said that you’d had another fight,” Scott replied, “And from the choice names she called you, I guessed it was pretty bad. I didn’t need to press her for details.”
Not wanting to violate her privacy, Logan just said, “It was. But if I can just speak to her …”
“Look, I’ll talk her out of the order of protection - ‘cause I’m sure she doesn’t need to do anything that drastic. But for now, give her some space. Don’t push it,” Scott suggested.
“Is she still going to the fight?” he asked, referring to the rematch with Creed.
“Far as I know,” Scott answered.
“Tell her I said ‘I’m sorry’, okay?”
“I’ll pass along the message,” he promised and then hung up.
~*~*~*
The next day Logan and Wraith were in Atlantic City. Scott had arranged for them to stay at the Travelodge on Pacific Avenue, because he said it was conveniently located within walking distance of the Taj Mahal Hotel - the venue for the rematch.
Meanwhile he and Emma - along with Marie, Warren Junior and Kitty - were staying at the Borgata Hotel & Spa, which was a few blocks away from the Boardwalk.
When Wraith met with Scott and Marie in her suite, he wasn’t very happy about the disparity between the accommodations.
“Now I see why Logan and I got stuck sharing a room at the Roach Motel,” he said bitingly as he surveyed the 1,500 square foot Piatto suite.
“Excuse me?” Marie responded - being unaware of the arrangements that had been made for them.
“How much of Logan’s training budget did you spend on yourself?” he asked her - not even attempting to hide his irritation.
“How dare you!” she replied, starting to get angry herself.
“I made the reservations for you and Logan,” Scott interjected. “And not that it’s any of your business, but Marie is paying for this suite with her own money.”
Suddenly Wraith became contrite, because Scott was right - he really had no justification to question the finances. Marie had continued to pay Logan’s living expenses as well as covering all the training costs - including a salary for him. If they’d wanted to stay at a nicer place, they should’ve paid for it themselves.
“You and Logan both need to get more exercise than just jumping to conclusions,” Marie told him.
“I’m sorry,” was all he could offer.
“I think I’ll let you handle this, Scott,” she said as she stood up and started to walk toward the suite’s foyer, “I’m going down to the spa for a hot stone massage. Which, by the way, I’m also paying for myself.”
And with that, she was gone. Slamming the door for emphasis.
“Well, I see you have as much finesse as your buddy,” Scott declared.
Wraith had the common decency to look embarrassed.
~*~*~*
The X-Men arrived in Atlantic City with much fanfare thanks to Xavier’s PR team. While Victor Creed may not have been welcome in high society and therefore never participated in fundraisers for the school, he was a hero amongst the working-class and they formed his fan base - The Carnivora.
Two busty blonde girls accompanied Creed as he entered the lobby of the Taj Mahal - strutting as if he’d already won the much-anticipated rematch. He posed for photos and signed autographs while the X-Men’s publicist Moira McTaggert fielded questions from the media assembled to cover the fight.
Logan had been nursing a beer in the Lobby Bar when he heard all the commotion and decided to investigate.
One of the paparazzi recognized him and yelled his name, which caught the attention of the rest of the media pack - who turned their cameras and microphones towards him.
Not happy with no longer being the center of attention and looking for an excuse to goad Logan anyway, Creed pushed his way through the throng until he was within a couple of feet of him.
“Hello, runt,” he said with a smug smirk.
Logan tried to look nonplussed and simply replied, “Creed.”
“I heard you’ve got yourself a sweet little sugar mama,” Victor taunted.
Choosing to ignore his reference to Marie, instead - alluding to Creed’s costume-like long trench coat trimmed in what appeared to be a lot of small dead animals - Logan replied, “I see you still think Halloween is every day.”
“This coat was $10,000,” Creed bragged.
“Then you got ripped off,” Logan countered.
“You’re just jealous ‘cause you have to shop at Goodwill,” Creed replied.
“And still manage to look better than you,” Logan retorted.
Creed lunged at Logan, who stood defiantly and showed no fear.
“You’re not gonna look so good when I get finished with you,” he warned as he jabbed his finger against Logan’s chest.
“I’m not scared of you,” Logan informed him.
Creed leaned forward so that he was now mere inches from Logan’s face and menacingly said, “You should be.”
Logan reached into his pocket, pulled out a small tin and offered it up him. “Breath mint?” he said with a smirk.
Creed knocked the tin out of Logan’s hand and it dropped to the floor, spilling the small white mints everywhere.
“Hey, you owe me a $1.50,” Logan told him.
“Tell you what,” Creed said, “I’ll buy you a whole case with the money I win.”
“You do realize that I’m walking away with the bigger share of the purse?” Logan said - referencing the 75/25 split they’d agreed to.
Creed let out a roaring laugh at that declaration and then suggested, “How about … winner takes all?”
“Done,” Logan agreed.
“WHAT?” Wraith yelled.
“I know what I’m doing,” Logan said out of the side of his mouth.
The media surrounding the two men went crazy at the agreement that the fight would be ‘winner takes all’. Xavier looked triumphant as he wheeled away to follow his champion.
“Are you crazy?” Wraith asked as they made their way back to the bar. “You’re risking a quarter of a million dollar payday just because you let that asshole bait you … again.”
“I was aiming for the 75% of the million dollar prize money, but thanks for having such little faith in me,” Logan snapped as he sat down on the barstool and signaled for the bartender.
“I was just being realistic. Stop being so damn sensitive,” Wraith said - then added, “You better win now - or how are you gonna pay your debt to Marie?”
Remembering her shock at thinking their lovemaking had cost her $250,000, Logan suddenly realized that if he lost the fight, he’d have no way to reimburse her.
“I’ll win,” he stated - although not terribly convincingly.
Meanwhile, Marie was being informed of Logan’s latest stunt.
~*~*~*
At the match Marie sat quietly on the little wooden stool beside the ring, her eyes cast down in an attempt to avoid looking at Logan. As he climbed into the ring he cleared his throat to get her attention. She peered up into hazel-colored eyes that burned right into her soul. Her breath hitched and then she chewed on her bottom lip to stop it quivering as her eyes filled with tears.
“I’m sorry,” Logan mouthed as he turned away from her.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the ringmaster announced, “Welcome to the Brotherhood’s presentation of ‘The Fight That Never Was’.”
The crowd broke out in a thunderous roar of approval.
Marie glanced over to the section where their friends were seated and was greeted by a lot of familiar smiling faces - including Storm, who waved and gave her a ‘thumbs up’ sign. Marie nodded, gave what she hoped was a convincing smile and returned the wave.
The ringmaster continued, “In this corner we have the current undefeated World Champion … Sabretooth!”
Victor pumped his fists in the air and strutted around his half of the ring to the cheers of the audience.
“And in this corner, the man who dares to challenge our champion … the Wolverine!”
Logan raised his arm and waved to the crowd, who greeted him with less enthusiasm than Creed - but at least he had a few fans amongst the masses. He smiled nervously and took a deep breath.
The two men went to their respective corners to await the first bell.
It sounded and they charged at each other.
Marie spent the next few minutes watching through her fingers as Logan and Creed pummeled one another. Even though she still wasn’t an expert on the rules, she was fairly sure Victor had executed several illegal jabs, which seemed to be ignored by the referee. But overall, Logan was getting in some good strikes and the fans realized that this match might not have the foregone conclusion they’d assumed it would.
Finally the bell rang again to signal the end of the round and Logan staggered back to his corner. Marie was prepared this time and had slid the stool onto the canvas before climbing into the ring to help Wraith attend to him.
Wraith began reviewing the first round as Marie dabbed at Logan’s face with a damp sponge. Then she put salve on his abrasions even though they were already healing themselves.
“Ouch,” Logan said and tried to bat her hand away from his face.
“What the hell are you doing out there?” she demanded as she unnecessarily slapped another glob of goo onto his cheek.
“I’m winning,” he replied.
“Yes, I noticed,” Marie told him.
“Well, that’s what you wanted … right?”
“Of course. Because if you lost we might be stuck together for who knows how long … and neither of us want that,” she said - wanting it to come out as a statement of fact when it sounded more like babbling.
“Damn right,” he responded. “Listen, cutie, you don’t even have to stick around - I’ll mail you a check.”
Before Marie could reply, the bell rang and Logan was on his feet and off to meet Creed in the center of the ring.
He attacked Creed with uppercuts and right hooks - pummeling the man as if his life depended on it. The crowd was going wild cheering for the one who was about to become the new champion.
Marie was standing next to Wraith with her fingernails dug into his arm. “He’s going to win,” she screamed.
Wraith mistook her declaration as excitement and yelled back, “I know. Isn’t it great?”
“NO!”
Wraith’s puzzled expression forced Marie to explain. “If he wins, he’ll be able to pay me back and then I’ll never see him again.”
“I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“No,” she replied, “After this round, when he comes back to the corner, I have to tell him how I really feel.”
Realizing that Logan was going in for the ‘kill’, Wraith said, “There won’t be another rest break - this thing is gonna be over any second.”
“But I have to tell him,” Marie insisted.
“Send him a text, he’ll read it on the way home,” Wraith suggested.
Marie looked panic-stricken as she clutched one of the white towels that were used to wipe down the fighters between rounds. Suddenly she had an idea and threw it into the air. As it fluttered down to the canvas it was if everything was moving in slow motion. The crowd, already on their feet and screaming for Logan’s eminent victory, were now gasping in shock as the piece of white terrycloth landed on the floor of the ring.
The referee pulled Logan away from Creed and told him, “I think there’s been a mistake - your corner just threw in the towel.”
Logan glanced over at a sheepish looking Marie and said, “No, it’s not a mistake.”
“Sorry, Logan,” the referee said. Then he walked over to Creed, took a hold of his arm, raised it in the air, and declared him the winner.
The assembled news crews immediately swarmed the ring and converged on Creed as Logan threaded his way through the small crowd. Marie climbed into the ring and ran toward him.
When they were less than a foot apart he said, “You know what this means, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” she replied, “You still owe me $250,000 and I’m in love with you.”
“What was that?” he asked - pretending he couldn’t hear her over the noise in the arena.
“I said - you still owe me $250,000,” Marie repeated.
“No, the other part,” Logan said teasingly as he pulled her toward him.
“You heard me,” she said with a smile.
“I’m in love with you too,” he told her as they melted into a kiss.
THE END
The Main Event - by Barbra Streisand
Extra! extra!
I’m in love
I gotta thank my lucky stars above
Hurry, hurry don’t be late
I can’t wait
I gotta celebrate
It’s a fact
We got a first rate act
It’s evident when we make love
The main event
You’re my every thought
Baby
You’re my own attraction
You must be heaven sent
You give me so much satisfaction
You’re the one
You make life worth fighting for
You’re the one-ah!
And there is nobody quite like you
Honey, you’re the one...
You’re my everything
And it’s my conclusion
There is no sweeter scent
When you have found the right solution
Cause you’re the one
You make life worth fighting for
You’re the one
And there is nobody quite like you
You’re my number one
You’re my number one
Extra! extra!
I’m in love
I gotta thank my luck stars above
Hurry, hurry don’t be late
I can’t wait
I gotta celebrate
It’s a fact
We got a first rate act
It’s evident when we make love
The main event
We’re the main event!