Chapter Five
A Logical Fallacy
Logan had to admit, it had worked. He no longer felt the pain that he did before. Instead, soreness in his legs and lower back replaced it. Logan had found it quite difficult to stand after being with Remus twice in the time he had spent in his room and his eyes were still slightly red and bloodshot from his flashback moments previous, so when Remus carried Logan back into the meeting hall, Deceit and Nate had sympathetic gazes for him. They increased when Remus sat him down and he let a maybe just slightly exaggerated whimper of pain escape his lips. Lucius, clearly under the impression that Logan had been punished, as were orders, chuckled. Tom, in the corner, crossed his arms with the sound of clanking and groaning metal, and Logan wasn't entirely sure that he knew whether Tom was pleased or disgusted by Logan's pain. He also found that he didn't particularly care.
"I'm glad you could all make it here tonight gentleman." Lucius hissed in a cruel voice. Logan kept his eyes fixed on the table, finding himself subconsciously following the rules of the figment hall from the maze. And as that thought registered to him, he felt himself being drawn back into a flashback. His breath was coming quickly, everything sounded as though he were submerged under water, until he heard his own screams echoing through the air. They sounded distant, but still more real than the chatter happening around was standing above him, he looked almost transparent… only part way there. He was colored in entirely grey scale, black blood pouring sluggishly from his side and leg. He still had his knife. Logan could feel himself shake as he did his best to avoid eye contact with him. One sentence, one fact that he had learned echoed through his mind. One safety, one constant he could latch on to, no matter how terrifying that constant was; if you look into the eyes of a shadow figment, your worst nightmares would fill your mind and torture you into submission.
Remus noticed Logans trembles first. He was holding remarkably still for what Remus knew was happening, staying remarkably silent. A single tear slid down his cheek, and Remus knew Lucius would notice. He wasn't really listening to the meeting, Nate and Deceit would fill him in, and he wasn't really allowed to make decisions anyways, so it startled him when Lucius addressed Logan directly.
"I apologize, my lord." Remus said in a rush. "I'm not quite sure he can hear you." Praying Judas wouldn't pick up on the slight bit of deception he was about to pull he added, "I was quite rough with him." Lucius nodded slightly, and Remus had to stop himself from sighing in relief when Judas didn't say anything. He knew Lucius and Tom would tear Logan apart piece by piece if they knew he had trauma issues, and he wasn't sure why, but he really didn't want that to happen.
"Do you think you would be able to pull him back out of the trance you've seemed to work him into?" Lucius hissed lightly. Remus nodded violently and leaned over to whisper in Logan's ear.
"You need to come back to us nerdy wolverine. You're safe right now, but you won't be soon." Remus could practically see Logan being brought back to reality, and Logan- ever so perceptive- seemed to have picked up on the situation, because he hung his head and whimpered out a small, terrified;
"I'm sorry." Lucius chuckled and Logan shook violently for a moment before straightening up. Remus could tell he was pointedly avoiding eye contact with anyone. Damn this nerd's smart.
"Since this was your first time being punished, I will have mercy on you and repeat myself, do know that I will not do so again in the future." Lucius sneered.
"Yes sir." Logan said in monotone with no hesitation. He saw Lucius's face split into an almost Remus worthy unnerving grin in his peripheral. "The question was whether you are ready to challenge Remus for his place among us, after all even in pain you should be able to decide Remus can't hurt you, correct?" He jeered. Tom laughed, and Logan had made up his mind instantaneously.
"My Lord, if I may be so bold as to request, I'd like to challenge Tom for his position, instead of Remus." The hall was dead silent.
"Proving wrath already I see…" Lucius drawled. "Very well, boy, we'll see how this goes."
"My lord- please, you ca-" Tom began, panicked.
"Silence." Lucius snapped, cutting him off. "If you are afraid of losing to a broken and battered former light side, then perhaps you aren't meant to be here at all." His chilling voice silenced the table and Logan slowly got to his feet, swaying slightly, as he was still nauseous. Lucius eyed him critically for a moment, before seeming to make up his mind on something. "You have one hour, I want to see you in your new outfit, Cunning, ready to fight for your position. You may have help from anyone sitting at this table, but I'm sure you know how dangerous asking for help is." He stood, staring down at them imposingly. "Meeting adjourned." And he was gone in a wisp of smoke. Tom growled at Logan from across the room and stormed out the door, demanding that Nate follow him. Nate wrinkled his nose, gave him the one- finger salute, and turned compassionate eyes towards Logan.
"You good, nerd?" He asked. Logan nodded.
"I am slightly dizzy, but otherwise stable and well." He clarified.
"Why were you so rough with him, didn't you say he was your favorite?" Judas demanded of Remus.
"I-" Remus began, but Logan cut across him.
"He did not harm me, I had a vivid, trauma induced flash-back, added to the side effects of coming down from a psychedelic induced high." Judas's expression was the most surprised and confused Logan had ever seen from a side.
"Dude… the fuck?" Nate asked, nearly laughing. "There's some weird-ass shit going on huh?" Logan shrugged.
"I suppose so yes, now if you'll excuse me, I'm about to battle the embodiment of chaos." He said pleasantly.
"You need to make your new dark side uniform first." Remus said excitedly.
"Yes Remus, I'm aware." Logan replied tiredly.
"You want help?" Nate offered generously. Logan tilted his head to one side.
"I suppose I'll need it." He replied. Nate whooped.
"I've been waiting for the chance to help style someone's outfit for like, so long." He said in a rush. "We want your personality to come through in the costumes, so here's what I want you to do. Design your outfit, best you can now, we'll look it over and add or take things away. If you get stuck… well you're super smart, so I'm sure you can do like pattern and trend things."
"Basically, he means think about us while you're changing." Remus laughed, leering at Logan.
"I'm not quite sure that came across as dirty as you meant it to, but you are, without a doubt, entirely disgusting." Logan said, unamused.
"Duck into this room here, so you can do what you're going to do." Nate gesture vaguely over his shoulder to a door behind him. Logan nodded and slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. The room was very small, there was a bench and a mirror but other than that nothing. He summoned himself his sketchbook, and placed it on the bench beside him. Logan looked himself over in the mirror laid before him. A new style was paramount. In order to be truly cut off from the Light Sides- and in turn set them free of being tainted by him- he would have to stop looking like a Light Side. His color pallet, he was sure, was dark enough to keep, and based off of what the other dark sides wore, he supposed something outlandish and- dare he say it- nonsensical was definitely in order, but what to do? He supposed makeup was somewhat of a trend within the dark sides. Remus wore eyeshadow, Nate wore thin eyeliner, and Lucius wore almost a full face of makeup on a regular. Logan was definitely not considering going as far as the ruler of the darkness, but if makeup was the norm, he supposed he might as well participate. The question now was, what kind? It should be something odd, he supposed, but intimidating. He wasn't sure he knew how to do that, he'd never worn make up in his life, and definitely never had time to practice. He would worry about that one later. First and foremost, he had to figure out how the hell you were supposed to take a plain button down and make it threatening. Changing it up in general was necessary, so he decided he would lengthen the sleeves. For a touch of eccentricity, as that was most definitely the style among the dark, he chose to have them end in a point that extended over his hands. He turned to the sketch pad beside him, adding that new thought to the design of his original outfit. Acting on a sudden whim, he roughly sketched the sleeves hanging down off his arms, giving an even thinner look to his body. He nodded absently to himself and thought back to the outfits of the other sides once more. Remus had a multitude of needless decorations. Nate was a fan of jewelry, namely chains. Judas wore many layers, though that may only have been due to his lack of self-confidence. Lucius had silver chains hanging off of his waist, arms, and neck most of the time He supposed adding layers or something shiny to his outfit may aid him in his separation from the light. He experimented with several different layer options before he settled on getting rid of his tie- A subtle nod to the revelation that he no longer figuratively tied down the light sides- and sketched himself the vague shape of a cape that hung loosely off his shoulders, clamping in front of his chest, sweeping down his back to just barely not touch the ground. It was needlessly large and not at all functional, but he supposed that fit the criteria for a dark side outfit. Remembering that Nate was the only dark side that didn't wear heeled boots, Logan added a pair to his sketch. Feeling that Lucius would likely be flattered by a subtle nod to his own fashion, he added a few, thin chains to his waist, neck, and boots. He still had no idea what kind of makeup he was supposed to wear, so he settled on having none. He sighed and did his best to snap himself into the outfit he'd thought up. He chose his usual deep blue for the cape with a shimmering silver crow as the clasp. He was quite proud at himself for summoning something so specific out of nothing. Only Roman could do that with ease. Thinking about the deceased light side made Logan start to feel choked up, so he cut off that line of thought almost violently. He successfully summoned shimmering silver chains to decorate his outfit, having the rest of his outfit be plain black. He sighed tiredly, placed Daylan in a shoe box in the corner, and exited the room. Remus checked him out very openly, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Hot." He said with another too wide grin. Logan rolled his eyes.
"What do I change?" He asked Nate. Nate's face split into a grin.
"It's pretty damn good, nerd, you already look like one of us. What do you think about getting rid of your glasses?" He said snidely.
"I need them to see." Logan said blankly. Deceit snorted.
"I mean replace them with contacts, dumbass." Nate said laughingly.
"Oh… I don't know." Logan replied honestly.
"Okay, fair." Nate said. "How about makeup? You chill with us designing that?" Logan just shrugged, and immediately found himself pushed into a rolling chair that wasn't there before and being pushed out of the room by a smirking Judas. Remus was practically skipping beside them, giggling wildly. Nate was doing handsprings and cartwheels just barely ahead of them to the side. Judas picked up speed, and Logan grabbed onto the arms of the chair as they reached what Logan estimated to be the average speed of a fucking jet liner. In spite of himself, a joyful yell made its way out of his mouth to join the gail of laughter from the other dark sides. Logan would never admit to the squeak of fright he gave when they turned the corner and skid to a stop. He found himself laughing along with them at the end of it, and by the time they'd calmed down, Nate and Remus had eyeshadow pallets and foundation.
"Let's get this bread." Nate said, popping open the foundation.
"I don't know if-" Logan was cut off by Deceit.
"Oh come on Logan, it won't at all be fun." He urged him.
"Fine." He conceded, sighing. The others let out excited noises, and closed around him. He was pretty sure it was Judas that grabbed his glasses. He stiffened the second one of them touched his face, but allowed himself to relax after a moment. Nate, Remus, and Judas were arguing over styles and ideas, even as they applied the makeup. Logan forced himself to keep a blank face and stay still, but laughter was bubbling up in his throat. Finally, it seemed they settled on one specific theme, and after a moment, they pulled back.
"It doesn't have to be this one Logan." Nate said to him. "If you don't like it, we can do a different one." They sound his chair to the side to face a wall mirror that was mounted there. They'd drawn color flowing freely from his eyes, white fading to blue fading to black. His eyelids were covered in a swirling mix of grey, white, and blue reminding him of storm clouds and water. He was suddenly hit with an inspiration.
"It's good." He replied after a moment, "but perhaps a color change? Change the drip from white, blue, and black to red, purple, and blue."
Nate fixed a sad smile on to him.
"You got it, nerd." They spun him around again and got to work. When they turned him back to the mirror, the effect of his decision hit him like a brick. He could always have Patton, Virgil, and Roman with him without hitting them.
"Perfect." He heard the ice in his voice as Nate and Judas shivered for a moment.
"Do you want to talk strategy?" Judas asked. "It's not like Chaos is our best fighter now."
"I have a strategy." Logan said. "It's trial tested."
"Okay, nerd, if you're sure." Nate shrugged. "Since we've still got like 20 minutes-"
"22 minutes 33 seconds," Logan interrupted. "32 seconds, 31 seconds-"
"We get it." Nate rolled his eyes. "I was going to say that we should go check out your room. The dark domain should have made you one already." Logan nodded, about to stand.
"I must admit, I am curious." Remus playfully shoved him back into the chair, causing it to roll back slightly.
"Taxi!" He and Nate called. Judas, chuckling slightly, grasped the back of the chair. Logan, ready this time, gripped the arms. Remus took off down a hallway Logan hadn't seen earlier. Nate took off after him and Logan felt the chair lurch forward as Deceit began to run forward. He allowed himself to laugh along with the other dark sides as they pushed him towards what was presumably the way to his new room. Nate and Remus got to the new door first, pushing it open. When the wheels of the chair tried to go over the small, wooden bump in the threshold, it stopped abruptly, throwing Logan out of it. He hit the ground still laughing, and sat up. Judas had fallen into the chair and was currently also on the floor with the chair upside down on top of him. Remus and Nate had started laughing harder and Judas seemed to be having a hard time breathing for the same reason. Logan collected himself and helped Judas up, pushing the chair back with his foot at the same time. Judas smiled at him and, though it should have been unnerving with his half snake face, it was quite pleasant.
"You're not nearly as frightening as you present yourself to Thomas." Logan commented to him. Judas flushed pink on the human side of his face.
"W- wait, yes I am!" His eyes widened and Remus and Nate, who had just calmed down began laughing once more. "Wait a minute! I meant to say that!" Logan found himself laughing slightly again too.
"You know, if you didn't try to scare him, he'd listen to you more." Logan pointed out.
"That makes sense." Judas argued. "No one ever listens to intimidating people."
"But Thomas listens to sides he perceives as good, and shoves sides away that he perceives as bad or evil."
"I suppose that doesn't make any sense." Judas said thoughtfully.
"This room is pretty empty." Nate commented, spinning in a circle. Logan nodded.
"Indeed." He replied. The room was large and open with a high ceiling. The walls and floor were white tiel, reminding Logan of a hospital or science lab. The ceiling, similar to the one in his old room, was painted with stars. The furniture already in the room was interesting to say the least. There was a small black bed frame in the corner with a white mattress but no blankets or pillows. There was a long, empty black bookshelf on the east wall, and on the west wall five large, empty cages were mounted next to a long, heavy counter top. Logan frowned slightly. He held out his hand and closed his eyes. He imagined that he was standing in his old room, reaching out to grab the blanket on his bed. Yes, he was far away from that room, but at the same time, he was in Thomas's mind… wasn't his old room and new room just the exact same place? He inhaled deeply and yanked his hand back, pleased to find the blanket from his old room in his hand after opening his eyes.
"Woah!" Nate exclaimed.
"You can summon things like that?" Judas asked, confused and amazed.
"No, only the Creativity brothers can make something out of nothing." Logan rolled his eyes. "All I did was reach into another part of Thomas's mind. It's difficult to do but it's possible."
"I want to do that!" Remus wined. "No fair!"
"I'd teach you how, but I don't think you have the patience or mental control." Logan said confidently. Nate snorted. Judas just knew Logan could see the amount of awe in his gaze, but fuck it if this guy didn't already know everything. His eyes nearly glowed with knowledge and his entire being seemed to hum with power. Judas wouldn't be surprised if Logan could just read people's thoughts.
"That is definitely not the most amazing thing I've ever seen. You're not talented at all." He said. A small smile flickered into life on Logan's face.
"Thank you, but it really isn't as impressive as you seem to think." He said humbly.
"I agree." Judas countered. "It isn't one of the most spectacular things I've heard of."
"Gotta side with Judas on this one, nerd." Nate said. "That's lit as fuck."
"Can you do that with anything?" Remus asked excitedly.
"As long as I'm familiar enough with the area it's in and I know where it is." Logan nodded.
"Wow." Judas breathed.
"Oh shit." Logan said suddenly, jumping slightly. "We need to get back to the meeting hall, I've got five minutes."
"Taxi!" Remus shouted. Judas swung the swivel chair around and pushed it into the back of Logan's knees, causing him to collapse back into it. This time, Logan seemed to be almost excited for the chair ride. Taking care not to flip the chair again over the wooden door stop, Judas pushed the chair in front of him, having to run very quickly to keep up with the other two sides. Logan's hall was incredibly long and complex, much more than any other Judas had been in, but then again, Logan was the most complex of the sides if any of Judas's theories were correct. They were barely going to make it in time. By the time Judas could see the open doors to the meeting hall, Logan shouted;
"30 seconds!" Though his voice was laughing. Judas smirked, getting an idea.
"Hold on tight, nerd." He shoved the chair ahead of him as hard as he possibly could. The chair had spun a bit, so when Logan passed over the threshold, he was rolling backwards. He had crossed his arms and was smiling devilishly. Judas laughed, slowing to a walk. Remus and Nate both slid into the meeting hall just after Logan did. The chair only stopped moving when it bumped into the far wall. Judas crossed the threshold of the room in time to see Lucius scowling at Logan and saying;
"You're late, Cunning."
"Actually, I think you'll find that when I entered the room, I still had fifteen seconds to make it here on time, and here I am." He said with a calm smile, uncrossing his arms.
"Fine." Lucius waved him off. "I do hope you are ready for combat." The dark king slumped back in his throne with an annoyed expression.
"I am." Logan nodded as he stood. Tom, who had been shadowed in the corner, stood as well, his arms crossed and posture angry. Logan bent slightly in a shallow bow, and Tom flipped him off. "I suppose that's fair." Logan nodded. The doors, which Remus and Nate had just pushed closed, flung open, crashing against the walls.
"Logan, I don't know what the fuck you think you're doing but you are not staying here with these monsters." Virgil was standing in the doorway, silhouetted harshly by the glowing light behind him.
"Remus, dispose of him." Lucius waved towards Virgil lazily.
"Hold on." Logan said firmly. "It is very possible that if he sees this, it will deter him from returning to attempt to collect me in the future. It will be less trouble for everyone involved." Lucius seemed to consider him for a moment. Judas was nervous, he was sure that Logan was what the dark sides needed. After his quick display of power in his new room, he knew Logan would beat Tom no problem, and his calm disposition and rational way of thinking would carry them to Thomas's favor and balance could truly be achieved. If Virgil successfully brought Logan back to the light sides it would destroy their chance for peace.
"Fine, he may stay and watch, but Remus will dispose of him should he attempt to interfere." Lucius decided finally.
"There won't be time for him to interfere." Logan said pleasantly, rolling his shoulders. Judas couldn't fathom a plan Logan could have to take down Tom, let alone quickly. Tom was incredibly powerful, Virgil would likely have a hard time holding his own in battle with him, and Logan was smaller and inexperienced. Then again, thinking and planning was Logan's job, not Judas's.
"You're already being initiated?" Virgil asked incredulously.
"That is the plan, yes." Logan nodded.
"Enough chatter. Begin." Lucius snapped. Judas tensed and bit, his fists clenching by his sides. Logan could not lose. Tom lunged forward, his gargantuan sword flashing into being within his hand. Logan didn't move, didn't stop smiling his pleasant, nonchalant, casual smile as if nothing were happening. Tom's sword made contact with Logan's chest and the blade sunk in deeply. Judas felt his blood run cold, and wasn't entirely sure if it was him or Virgil who called out to the intellectual side. But Logan was still smiling, his eyes still sparkling mischievously. He brought up one hand and grasped Tom's wrist. Tom started attempting to pull away but his sword seemed to be stuck. Logan's smile widened almost imperceptibly, and in a flash of soft white light, Tom clattered to the ground. Logan was gone.
"Logan!" So it was Virgil that screamed. Logan's soft, gentle, condescending chuckle filled the room and, though it was somewhat terrifying, it filled Judas with hope that he really would win and really could save them. Tom was haunched down in a very aggressive fighting stance.
"Do you know what's interesting about being a part of Thomas's mind?" Logan's soft but echoing voice said in a wondrous tone. "While everything is technically real, nothing is physically really there. We are more real than anything Thomas will ever experience and yet we are no more real than the characters Roman creates. There is nothing that is permanent and yet nothing really changes. Everything here is merely Thomas's perception and in knowing and understanding that, there is freedom and power." Tom started behaving erratically, swinging his oversized sword at nothing, looking around in a panicked fashion. "Even here, Tom, you believe you have slashed me, you believe you should have drawn blood, but in reality, I'm not here. I'm not anywhere near you, no one else can see what you are attacking. There is nothing there."
"You coward!" Tom stopped swinging his sword and turned his head up toward the ceiling. "Come out and fight me like a man."
"Careful Tom." Logan's calm voice warned. "You can't touch me, but I can touch you." Tom was thrown backwards off of his feet as though he had been struck square in the chest with something large and heavy. Logan's visage flickered to life. Reds, blues, purples, flickering, twitching, a crackling sort of static sound surrounding him. The only word for it was glitching, and it was terrifying. The vibrating hum of all consuming power had filled the air as Logan walked steadily forward towards Tom. His smile was vague and almost blank as he did so. When he spoke, his lips did not move and his chilly winter voice once again rang from the ceilings, the walls, from within Judas's own mind. "You are an abstract, you are immaterial, you are both inconsequential and asomatous." He glitched violently, crackling louder. His next words came out broken, complete but halting, mechanical. "You are weak." The glitching mien of Logan fizzled and popped, fading and falling away to nothing. Everything was silent for a moment, and then Tom screamed. It was a deep, blood curdling sound that froze Judas to the spot, which was lucky for him, for if it hadn't he would have ran and running away from something like this was a sure fire way to invoke the ire of the king of darkness. Tom was lifted off the floor, seemingly by his neck and he was writing, his legs flailing out in every direction. Beside Judas, Remus was practically dancing on the spot, excited by the exhibition of power and fear before them. Nate seemed as though he were going to fall ill from the screaming, his face was pale and his expression appeared nauseous. Virgil seemed torn between running away and curling into a ball, his eyes were wide and panicked and his lips were parted in the shadow of a scream, all worry he held for his friend clearly died in his throat. Lucius too, from his throne, was pale and sickly looking. His fear for the creature he had invoked paramount to what any of them had expected to feel here. It took Judas far too long to realize that Tom's armor was melting about his throat, orange and black dripping to the floor, steaming and seeming to harden again once it touches the ground. His hands had come up to grip at air as though trying to pry invisible hands away from his throat. His struggles seemed to weaken and die and his body became limp. It was clear he could breathe, he was going to die. It wasn't until the pigment of his armor started to dull and drain that Judas could process properly what was happening.
"Logan, no!" He screamed. His feet were moving before he knew what he was doing. Apparently, in his surprise, Logan's figure rematerialized with a shocked expression upon his face. Judas knocked Logan's arm out of the way, putting himself between him and Tom. He squeezed his eyes shut, prepared for a blow to come, berating himself for acting so rashly. But Logan never struck him, and when he finally got the nerve to open his eyes, Logan was regarding him curiously.
"Why stop me?" Logan's voice came only from Judas's mind this time as he held Logan's gaze steadily. Experimentally, he merely thought his next sentence clearly.
"You are not a murderer."
"Interesting." Logan's voice said softly, though his glitching form showed no signs that it had spoken. "The curse only affects spoken words on your part, perhaps that will make it easier to lift."
"Logan… are you… are we communicating telepathically?" Judas asked silently, uncertain.
"Oh yes, in fact the others likely think we're having a stare-down. So instead of staring me into submission, why don't you convince me I shouldn't kill him?"
"Logan?" Judas asked.
"I hate him." Logan said simply. "He mocks me, he causes unbalance in Thomas's mind, he threatens those I love, he hurts and oppresses all of you. Tell me why I shouldn't end his pathetic life now."
"Because you're better than him." Judas replied instantly, knowing it to be true. "You aren't like him. You're stronger, yes, but you're also smarter. Be the bigger man and step away. He'll be too afraid of you to oppose you again anyhow. Just tell him to stay away and he will." Logan's voice was silent for a moment, and Judas was temporarily frightened that he had failed to convince him. Then Logan looked away from him and towards the ground. From behind them, Nate gasped, and in all fairness, Judas wouldn't never have expected himself to win a stare-down with someone that powerful either. He could hardly look the others in the eye before, and they were friends… for the most Logan looked away, and towards the ground. Behind them, Virgil gasped and Nate made a strange choked sound. Judas understood why, he could never have imagined he could stare down someone as powerful as Logan, hell he could barely look his friends in the eye half the time.
"Fine." Logan said almost casually. "He lives. His position is still mine though. If he tries to fight back again," here he glitched excessively once more, "I will not spare him again." He turned and walked elegantly away from Judas, stopped roughly two feet away from Virgil, and regarded him curiously. "Do you believe I belong here now?" The trill of icy bells never left his voice, nor did the back bite of sharp winter's wind.
"No." Virgil said defiantly, though he had seemed to shrink in on himself. He and Logan locked eyes for a moment, and Judas briefly wondered if they were having the same sort of conversation he had just had with Logan. When Virgil looked away, shuddering slightly, not even a moment later, Judas knew he was wrong. To his knowledge, Virgil had never lost a stare-down before, especially not such a short one. The second they broke eye contact, Virgil seemed to know he was in trouble. He sent one last searching glance at Logan, and scampered away like a scared cat.
"Judas," Lucius barked, "Check to see if he even survived that.
"He didn't." Judas said with certainty, kneeling beside Tom to check anyway. He received something of an electric shock when he swept his eyes over him. There wasn't a thing out of p-lace about him. His armor, which Judas would have sworn was melting in Logan's grip before, was unharmed, untouched. "Uh…" Judas began uncertainly.
"It's alright." Logan waved his hand dismissively. "He was never in any real danger." Judas gaped at him, knowing full well how undignified he looked with his mouth partly open, but too indignantly confused to care for it any.
"W-" but Logan was already explaining.
"I merely made him perceive that he was in pain and unable to breathe. He is only unconscious now because his mind went into a panic and shut down all non-essential functions, as one does under such extreme duress, to slow down heart rate and conserve oxygen levels. The moment he passed out he was out of my power's reach and thus he will be fine once he wakes." He sighed in a bored fashion.
"B-but we saw-" Nate began.
"But are you really sure that what you're seeing is real?" Logan challenged.
"W- ye- I mean… I thought so!" Nate shouted indignantly. Logan smirked. Remus giggled.
"What if I told you that after that initial flash of light, I haven't been here?" He asked in a cheery voice.
"I'd think you'd gone off the deep end." Nate said matter of factly. Logan smiled.
"Wonderful! I've finally made it then. I've always wanted to see the bottom of the ocean." He began to glitch again, violently. The word Ocean was repeated several times in a stuttering, broken, mechanical way, until it faded from existence along with Logan's form. Everyone was still and silent for a moment, the atmosphere so tense and stiff you would have to saw at it with a knife to cut it. Even Lucius was sitting, petrified in his throne. All at once it was broken when the doors opened and Logan, with a faint blue glow around his eyes, wheeled in on the swivel chair and softly sang; "Taxi."
