It’s several hours until I next awaken, feeling refreshed for the first time in a long while.
I yawn and stretch, causing Logan to look up from his Japanese poetry.
“Sleep well?”
I nod and grin. “Thanks.”
He returns my smile and nods.
“So…what do we do now?”
“Wull, Chuck ‘n Jeanie’ve found out where that Vinnie clown’s hidin’ out, an’ we were waitin’ fer ya ta wake up ‘fore goin’ after ‘im.”
“Nice.” Something about the way he’s looking at me tells me there’s more. “What else is there?”
“Wull, Beast found out who a few of yer…uh…parents are…”
I blink and sit up a little straighter without even realizing it.
I…I have a family?
I want to bombard Logan with questions, but know that he’s going to tell me if I do or don’t.
“Do…do I know any of ‘em?”
Wolvie nods. “Wull, I’m one of ‘em.”
He’s one of my fathers?
It feels like my heart stops beating for a moment from the shock.
“Who…who else?” I whisper.
“Remy is one, an’ yer somehow related to Jeanie and Scott.”
Damn…feels like I’m related to the whole damn team…
I lean back, weak from surprise.
After a few moments of silence, Logan again clears his throat nervously, and I look up in a daze.
“So, uh, whaddya think?”
“I…don’t know…” I pause for a second, “but I’m honored to be your daughter.”
He favors me with a warm smile. “Always knew there was no way for us to be so similar and have it be just a coincidence.”
I grin a little and knit my brows. “Do the others know?”
Wolvie shakes his head. “Only you, Hank and I know. Gambit’s out on a mission and Beast wants to work more on the samples he has to figure out how yer related ta Cyc and Jean.”
I nod a little and sit up again. “As for Vincent, d’you know where he is?”
Logan nods. “He’s on a ship orbiting Earth.”
I blink. “Huh…I kinda figured he’d be somewhere on the planet, but ok.”
“You get dressed in yer uniform an’ I’ll go let that others know yer awake.”
“OK…meeting you guys somewhere?”
He nods. “Kurt’ll be by ten minutes after I tell the others yer awake ta take ya ta the hanger.”
“Will do.”
He turns to leave, but stops short when he feels my hand on his shoulder. He faces me, and we share a reassuring hug before he leaves.
Within the hour, we’re all sitting in the Blackbird, getting ready for lift off.
I listen to Scott and Jean cross-checking systems and let my thoughts wander as I subtly adjust my new wings into a more comfortable position.
Y’know, if someone would’ve told me a year ago that
I was going to head into space to find a power hungry, souped up mind reader,
I’d have called them crazy. Now? I think I’ll believe anything. Damn, a lot
has happened.
I remember back to the horrors the FOH and government put me through, and the sheer oddness of skipping through realities and fighting, much less KILLING, myself.
I dunno…how much weirder can it get?
I get pulled out of my distracted thinking when a symphony of concern enters Jean’s and Scott’s voices.
“There’s a dimensional rift forming in the middle of the shi…”
Jean’s sentence is interrupted by a brilliant white light and a thundering boom.
Once my eyes clear enough for me to see what happened, I notice Vincent hold a diamond sharp dagger to Banshee’s throat and looking coldly and steadily at me.
“I have had enough of these games,” Vincent says. “If HLM doesn’t come with me, the loud one here will lose his cherished vocal cords.”
Next to me, Wolvie growls. “What if we won’t let her go?” He starts to get up.
“No no no, Wolverine.” The villain presses the point of the dagger into Banshee’s skin, and a little bit of blood bubbles from the puncture, rolling down his neck to make a slender line disappearing under the collar of his uniform. Amazingly, Wolvie sits down.
Why doesn’t he fight back?
It’s then that I notice that no one has moved from their seats, as if the idea hadn’t occurred to them. I dare to glance at the control board. All the little dials are in the red. I don’t know anything about piloting, but I know those kinds of readings can’t be good.
Shit, he seems to have all the cards in this damn game.
I stand.
“Let them go.”
He looks at me and raises a brow. “Only if you come with me.”
“Fine.”
He leaves Banshee and grabs me roughly as the others look on in shock. With one last grin, he yanks me close and the surroundings drop from around us.
Part
Ten
Part Twelve
Mind Index