It had become impossible for Marie to look Scott in the face. In the past six hours both of them had lost a spouse. The only difference was that while they could still bring Logan home, Jean was gone for good. Marie did not doubt that she and her family would be leaving the mansion once Logan was brought home. Marie knew that the Professor would never kick them out of the mansion, but at the same time, she knew that Logan would not be able to remain at the mansion any longer. Not when he was responsible for Jean’s death.
“I don’t blame Logan for what happened to Jean,” Charles said, snapping Marie from her somber thoughts. “What happened was beyond his control.”
Marie turned her teary expression on Xavier and heaved a great sigh. “I don’t think that will matter much to Logan. All he’ll see is the fact that Jean’s dead ‘cause of him.”
“That was what I was afraid of,” Charles said, running a hand over his brow. “I wish there was some way I could convince him otherwise.”
“Logan is as stubborn as they come,” Marie agreed wiping away the tears which were threatening to fall. “I know that he was out there when St. John, Bobby and me were lookin’ for him. I could feel it. Logan just... he just wouldn’t answer me. Now there are only two reasons why Logan wouldn’t answer me. Either he was hurt too much to call out or he was doing what he does best which is hiding away when he thinks he’s a danger to someone else.”
“If I didn’t think it would be a risk to him, I would attempt to contract Logan using Cerebro,” Charles volunteered.
After what had happened the last time Charles had attempted to enter Logan’s mind, Marie was glad to see him showing that restraint. Out on his own in the wilderness Logan would have been incredibly vulnerable were he to pass out again. He was out there all alone, possibly hurt and none of them knew what he was doing or where he was.
Charles maneuvered his chair directly in front of Marie and placed a hand on her knee. “Why don’t you go be with your children. They need their mother right now.”
“They also need their Daidee,” Marie murmured. “Kristyn and Braeden are just little kids. How on earth am I gonna explain to them that their Daidee had to go away again.”
“Surely the children are aware of the fact that sometimes you and Logan are forced to go away for short periods of time,” Charles protested, his face full of concern.
Pushing her hair away from her face, Marie gave him a watery smile. “But he’s not gonna be able to call them when they go to bed. Whenever we go out on a mission, Logan and I always call the kids before they go to bed so they know we’re all right. Even if he is near a phone, Logan won’t call because he knows that we’ll be able to find him that way.... I just want to know if he’s okay.”
~*~*~*~*~
“So I hear the redhead is dead. What have you been up to, Victor?”
Alayna delighted in watching the behemoth cringe when she spoke. She didn’t think there were many people who could make the monster shudder and shake like that. It was a very vindicating experience.
“I would have thought you’d go after the Rogue,” Alayna commented when it became obvious that Victor wasn’t going to answer her.
“They took out those chips of yours that let me control what he’s doing,” Victor grumbled, adjusting a few knobs on the control pannel. “All that’s left is the vision one. I can still make him see things but that’s about it. Really sucks ‘cause I was looking forward to making him gut his little whore.”
“And here I thought you’d gained a soft spot for her,” Alayna taunted, running her fingers across Victor’s shoulders as she passed behind him.
“Don’t you have something else to do?” Victor growled. “Someone else to annoy? Someone else to fuck?”
Alayna arched an eyebrow, a wicked smile twisting her features. “Jealous, are we?”
“Fuck jealous! You’re just pissing me off!”
“You are jealous,” Alayna drawled as she delicately hopped up onto an empty portion of the console directly next to where Victor was siting. Raising one dainty foot, Alayna placed the slender heel on Victor’s thigh, very close to his groin. “I suppose that the two of us could find a way to entertain ourselves for a little while if you’re game.”
Victor bared his fangs and snarled at her which only made Alayna increase the pressure she was placing so dangerously close to his crotch.
“You’re the whelp’s spawn. Ain’t no way I’m fucking you,” Victor hissed, pulling himself away from her. “You’re fucked in the head, bitch. Spent too much time with those asshole doctors that turned the runt inside out. Hell, I bet you even enjoyed most of the stuff they did to you you’re so fucked up.” In a move that could only be considered bad judgment on his part, Victor came to stand between Alayna’s legs and grabbed her upper arms tight enough to leave hand-shaped bruises. “You get off on pain, don’t ya? The more I hurt ya the more you’ll like it.”
“And the problem is?” Alayna murmured, arching her back so that her breasts brushed against his chest. “I bet you’ll like hurting me. You could probably get off on doing just that.”
Before Victor had a chance to react, Alayna tore herself from Victor’s grasp and kicked him clear across the room. He flew through the air only to crash against the opposite wall and slump to the floor. Sliding off the console, Alayna sauntered from the room without a care in the world.
“You are nothing compared to me, Victor dear,” Alayna told him as she passed his prone form. “I am much more evolved that you are.”
~*~*~*~*~
“The bad men took Daidee again, didn’t they?”
At the sound of Braeden’s voice, Marie’s head jerked in the direction of the rec room door where her little boy was standing. He looked so much like Logan at that moment with is hair all mussed up and wild that it nearly broke Marie’s heart. She held her arms out towards Braeden, wanting to have him close to her at that moment.
“I thought you were goin’ to Aunt Kitty and Uncle Kurt’s with your sister,” Marie said as Braeden snuggled into her arms.
“Stay wif you,” Braeden informed her as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Wanna be here when Daidee comes back.”
Marie pressed a kiss to the top of Braeden’s head. “You miss your Daidee, don’t you?”
“How come the bad men keep taking Daidee?” Braeden asked tilting his head so that he could see Marie’s face.
Marie shrugged her shoulders, smoothing her fingers through her son’s hair. “I wish I knew, squirt. Right now Grandpa Charles is doin’ everythin’ he can to figure out why the bad men keep takin’ Daidee.”
Satisfied for the moment, Braeden was silent in his mother’s arms. Marie found it incredibly unusual that the normally hyperactive Braeden was so quiet and solemn. That alone was proof enough of how much everything was effecting him. Because he was so young, everyone had just assumed that Braeden wasn’t aware of what was going on around him. Anyone who saw him now would know exactly how completely aware of what was happening Braeden was.
“I gonna go get Daidee,” Braeden announced suddenly a few minutes later.
“So does this mean you’re gonna be my hero while Daidee’s gone?” Marie asked him, feeling her heart break even more.
Braeden nodded his head enthusiastically, grinning up at her. “I keep you safe from the bad men, Momma.”
“Is that so, squirt? And just how are you gonna do that?” Marie asked, arching an eyebrow at him.
“Wif deese.”
Marie let out a startled gasp at the site of the three bone claws protruding from her son’s clenched fist. The claws were identical to the ones that Logan possessed, which they had learned only a few months ago had originally been bone ones like the ones Braeden was now sporting. It wasn’t the fact that Braeden had the claws that shocked Marie so much. Already Braeden had been showing signs of having inherited Logan’s mutation, but none of them had expected such an obvious manifestation of it until he was much older.
“Sweetheart, how long have you had those?” Marie demanded, carefully taking Braeden’s hand in her own to examine the claws.
Braeden shrugged his shoulders absently, already bored with his mother’s inspection of his hand. “A bunch of days. I’s like Daidee! Watch!”
As Marie watched, Braeden retracted the claws. His skin healed over instantly, just like Logan’s knuckles did when he retracted his own claws. Holding Braeden’s small hand within her own, Marie was saddened by the fact that her little boy could no longer live as carefree as he always had. Braeden would have to be careful now that he possessed such lethal weapons.
“You do know that you have to be very careful with those,” Marie told more than asked the little boy.
Pursing his lips, Braeden nodded his head. “Can’t use dem to scare ‘Tynny. And can’t hurt no one wif dem.”
“That’s right,” Marie confirmed, sliding her fingers over the grooves of his knuckles. If it was anything like when Logan released his claws, Braeden’s knuckles would be extremely itchy and sore from all the healing. “When Daidee gets back the two of ya will have a talk about your claws. Daidee knows a lot more about them than I do.”
“Daidee’s smarter than you?” Braeden asked furrowing his brows.
Marie pretended to be shocked. “As much as Daidee likes to think otherwise I’m smarter than him. But don’t tell him that ‘cause me might start cryin’ like a big baby.”
Braeden giggled quietly and burrowed his head against her shoulder, yawning loudly. It was nine at night, a long time after Braeden normally went to bed and Marie was surprised to see him still awake. Especially since he was supposed to have gone to Kitty and Kurt’s apartment in the city. Considering everything that had happened that day, Marie wasn’t surprise that Braeden had been lost in the havoc.
As Braeden drifted off to sleep, Marie’s mind automatically went to Logan who she usually held in her arms every night.
~*~*~*~*~
Despite the small fire he had managed to build, Logan could feel his entire body trembling. He had been trying for hours now to sleep, but his body was shaking so much that he was unable to fall asleep. His entire upper body was chilled through and Logan longed to feel Marie’s arms around him. All that he needed was to feel Marie’s arms around him and Logan knew that he was home.
But Logan knew that he couldn’t go to Marie. Not anymore. He was a danger to her and everyone else and Logan refused to put anyone that he cared about in danger. He had already killed Jean and there was no way he was going to risk the lives of anyone else at the mansion. Especially not his family.
There was a loud crash of thunder then a cold curtain of rain descended, dousing Logan’s pitiful fire instantly. Curling in on himself, Logan tried to conserve his non-existent body heat as the rain soaked him completely.
“Marie....” Logan moaned, bringing his right arm up to cover his face. “I need you so much, darlin’....”
All that answered Logan was an echoing crash of thunder.