He blocked out the screaming. It was the only way he could keep going. Jackal held down the man's left arm, Lorna his right. Wolf kept the wound open. The job was too delicate for using his claws, so Logan used a knife instead, and every time it scraped against adamantium, it got duller. But that didn't matter. He needed to get the tracking device out.
Cyot held the man's hand. His nails dug into her skin, making deep gouges in her palms. Logan couldn't worry about that. The others told him she was tough. Well, now she was proving it.
There was a lot of blood. A lot. They'd been at this for an hour and a half. Every time he thought he'd gotten to the edge of the tracking device's base, the knife scraped again, and Cougar screamed. He had kept silent for the first thirty minutes. Then he grunted. But everyone has their limits, and his was an hour and twenty minutes.
There. Finally. He pierced the bone straight through. With a last jerk, Logan ripped the whole bloody mess out. Everyone started to relax, but he stopped them.
"We have to keep the wound open until the bone grows back," he said. "Otherwise, his skin will close the spot."
So they kept cutting back the healing flesh, watching, waiting until the bone began to grow. When it finally reconnected at the center, everyone let go as fast as they could to give him room. Cougar lay on the floor, unmoving as the wound was finally allowed to close. When it did, he rolled to his side, moaning. They waited in silence, giving him as much time as he needed.
After what seemed like hours, Cougar rose. They supported him up and then into a chair where he rested another moment. Finally he shook his head.
"Let's do this then," he muttered and got to his feet.
Logan nodded. "We'll be back as quick as we can," he told the others. Then he and Cougar headed outside.
He waited as Cougar breathed in the cold air. It calmed him further and he turned to the job at hand.
"The closest reception point is to the north east," he said. "There's no trail there, obviously, so we'll have to make it up as we go along."
"Lead the way," Logan told him.
The two men set off across the treetops, leaping from branch to branch. A few creaked under their weight, but they were carful to stay on the thickest ones. After a while, Logan glanced over.
"So what's your real name?" he asked.
"Cougar is my real name," the man said.
"You must have been called something before Flight 100 got hold of you," Logan argued.
His companion paused, balancing on a particularly strong branch. "Jonny," he whispered.
"Short for Jonathan?" Logan asked.
The man smirked. "Short for Jonen," he returned. "My parents were a bit odd when it came to naming their kids."
"You've got siblings?" Logan asked.
"Yeah, Two." He looked away. "Lorna and Jani."
"Jani?"
"Jackal," Jonny supplied. "Twins, you know. They don't look it or act it, but they've got that twin bond. One always knows what the other's doing."
"You were all taken?" Logan asked as they headed off again.
"Not exactly," Jonny said. "After I was successfully spliced with your DNA, Flight 100 went after my sisters."
"We'll stop them," Logan said kindly. "Once and for all. They'll never hurt you again."
The man nodded and they continued on in silence. It was nearly an hour before they stopped again. Logan pulled a disk from his pocket. A golden 'X' shone on its surface.
"Xavier, come in," he called.
There was a pause.
"You sure we're out of the base's range?" he asked Jonny.
The man started to reply, but just then a new voice rose into the air.
"Wolverine? What's wrong," Xavier called. "I was under the impression you wanted to be left alone."
"I did," Logan said, "but things have changed."
"Oh?" the communicator questioned.
"I need you to look someone up for me," he explained.
"By 'look someone up,' you mean…"
"I mean use that big round room of yours to find a guy who can't be found."
Xavier didn't speak for a long moment. Finally he replied. "All right. What's his name?"
Logan glanced at his companion.
"Alex Breech," he supplied.
"Alex Breech," Logan repeated. "He's probably got some psychic blocks set up, but you should be able to get around them with Cerebro."
"All right. I'll call back when I have it." The communicator clicked, and Logan placed it back in his pocket.
"So that's it?" Jonny asked.
Logan nodded. "This might take a while."
He was right. It was a good ten minutes before Xaier returned a bit winded and said, "he's twenty six miles due north of Quebec."
"Cocky son of a gun," Jonny whispered. "He's back at the old base."
"Thanks," Logan told his communicator. "I'll talk to you soon."
"Logan, I'm sending out the team."
"Keep the kids where they are," Logan snapped.
"Logan, this man, whatever your reason for finding him, he is not to be trifled with. Not even you can take him alone."
Logan glanced to the young man at his side. "I won't be alone," he said, "and you don't want your X-men associated with what we're about to do."
