There is darkness in light, there is pain in joy, and there are thorns on the rose. Cate Tiernan
I stood up from my desk, picking up my jacket and heading out of my home for a walk. It was a cold day, so I made sure I was well rugged up before I stepped outside. Locking the door, I turned and was surprised to see a familiar man rolling towards me in a wheelchair, accompanied by another very familiar man.
"Professor, Scott, it's good to see you again." I tucked my hands into my pockets. "What brings you to Boston?"
Scott looked down at the Professor, who nodded gently. Scott always wore those red-lensed glasses, so I could never read his expression, but even Xavier's face was void of emotion. Something had happened, and it looked like it might be bad.
"What happened?" I asked, looking at the two of them.
"We heard talk that Victor Creed had resurfaced." Scott said, in his quiet voice. "We told Logan, and before we could discuss it further, he took off. He's been gone for a month."
I bit my lip, knowing exactly what they were about to ask. I just wasn't sure if I could do it. Logan and I had parted on… not great terms, and I didn't know if he would even talk to me, if I managed to find him at all.
"We wouldn't ask if it wasn't important." Xavier took my hand. "But ever since I put the wall up inside his mind, he's been hard to find with Cerebro, and we've checked everywhere we thought he might be. We're out of options, Annabel."
"Alright, I'll see what I can do." I nodded. "I'll need some time to pack."
"Meet us at the airport." Scott said, before they turned and headed off.
I know this won't be easy for you. The Professor said in my mind. Even though things didn't go well between you, he does still trust you, and I think he will listen to you.
I hesitated, my hand on the door handle. I'm not certain that he will. But I'm more concerned that he will already be off the deep end by the time I get to him. I walked back into my home, getting out my suitcase.
We'll deal with that if it happens. Just focus on finding him.
Sighing, I began to pack my clothes. I had no idea what state Logan would be in when I found him. When it came to his brother, he tended to be very volatile. I'd managed to bring him back from the edge once before, but I wasn't sure I would be able to do it again.
I ran my fingers through my ginger hair, trying to keep myself together. I wondered if I was about to make a bad situation worse by going to find Logan. There was no way in Hell I was going to just leave him to deal with his brother on his own though, so I grabbed my things and caught a taxi to the airport.
"You're not the only one who's lost people, Logan." I whispered, holding back my tears.
"No. But I'm the only one with a hundred years' worth of memories and ghosts that I have to deal with." He snapped, pacing around the room. "And I'm the only one who also has a brother that constantly returns just to fuck with me. I do all this alone, and I don't want to hear how I'm doin' it wrong."
Anger was rising up in me, and I knew I had to get out before I lost control. But I couldn't stop myself saying something before I left.
"You think you've been doing this alone? I have been here, talking you through every step of it. But fine, I hope you enjoy actually being alone, because I'm done." I stormed out, fleeing to my room.
Slamming my door shut, I slid to the floor and cried. I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't put up with the anger and frustration anymore.
I tried to push my thoughts aside as we landed at the school. It was hard, because I hadn't been to the school since that argument, and it brought back all the memories. I'd spent hours, probably days, of my five years at the school helping Logan through his issues. I sacrificed my own mental health and time to sit by him as he panicked about his missing memories.
"What will you need in order to find him?" Xavier asked, as we walked off the plane and into the underground part of the school.
"I need some of his blood and a quiet space. Everything else I have with me." I rolled my luggage along the hallway.
He thought for a moment. "The small training space across from the elevator should work. I'll get Dr McCoy to bring down Logan's blood sample. Your old room is still empty."
We parted once we got out of the elevator, and I walked to my room, lifting my luggage onto the bed. Unzipping it, I pulled out the things I would need. Blood tracking wasn't easy, and I'd spent a lot of time working on it.
I carried my ritual bag down to the training room, stopping at the door when I saw Hank walking down the corridor to me.
"Here, Charles said you needed this." He handed me a small sample tube.
I nodded, taking it from him. "Thank you. Can you tell him I'll need him to stay out of my head for an hour or so?"
Pushing the door open, I pressed the button to blacken the windows so that no one could watch me. This was the first time I'd done this alone, and I really didn't want prying eyes.
I sat in the centre of the room, pulling my bowl and knife out of the bag. Closing my eyes, I slowly breathed in and out, calming my mind. I needed complete focus, or I could end up doing any number of things other than what I wanted. Using someone else's blood like that could have really unintended consequences if done wrong. It took a few minutes, but I eventually got to the calm I needed.
I opened the tube of blood, dipping my finger in and painting the the rim of the bowl with it. Then I poured the rest into the bowl. Looking down at the blood on my finger, I watched as my skin absorbed it. A small rush of adrenaline spread through my body, and I breathed deep.
Next, I picked up my knife and cut my palm open. Stretching my fingers back to get the blood moving, I held my hand over the bowl. My blood was brighter than Logan's, the reds slowly mixing together. Looking at my hand, I focused and used my blood to heal the cut.
Finally ready to begin, I lifted the bowl close to my face with one hand, holding the other hand above it. The blood began to swirl around in the bowl, and I concentrated on the image of Logan in my mind.
It was difficult, like his blood was fighting me. I realised that his healing power was overriding me in some way. I was going to have to push harder, and it was probably going to hurt, but it needed to be done.
I put the bowl on the floor and dipped all the fingers of my right hand into the blood.
"Stop fighting me, Logan." I whispered, trying to push through.
It was getting easier, and I pushed just a little bit harder. Suddenly there was a flash of something in my vision, it looked like a lake. It was familiar, and I was sure I'd seen it before.
When I pushed again, I heard a voice.
Stay out of my head! Logan shouted, in my mind.
I fell backwards, knocking over the bowl. My hands were shaking, and I tried to collect myself. I'd screwed up, pushing too hard and accidentally opened a two-way communication for a moment.
Quickly cleaning the blood, I walked upstairs to the office. Before I knocked on the door, I hesitated. That lake, it was so familiar.
The door opened, distracting me from my thoughts. Scott was standing there and he gestured for me to come in.
"What did you find out?" He asked, sitting down in one of the chairs across from Xavier.
"He's at a lake, but I…" I leaned on the back the other chair. "I pushed a little hard, and he knew I was there, so he pushed back. I don't think he knows it was me, but I'm betting he's not going to be in a good mood when I find him." As soon as I finished talking, I realised where he was. "Alberta! He's gone back to his family home."
The two men looked at each other.
"We didn't look there." Xavier commented. "He said he would never go back."
I nodded, walking over to the couch and sitting down. "He said he wouldn't go back unless he had to. It's the one place where his brother will never search for him. It's the only place he'll be safe."
Scott stood up. "I'll fly you up there in the morning." He left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
"Are you sure you want to go in on your own?" Xavier asked, looking over at me. "He's likely to be violent."
"I know. And I would send anyone else if I thought he would listen to them. But he won't. I don't even know if he'll listen to me, but I have to try." I closed my eyes, resting my face in my hands for a few moments. "I don't know how this is going to go."