Hello, I'm back and with another chapter. This will mark the end of what happened on the day professor Xavier and Jean 'disappeared'. And before you ask, no I'm not killing them off. It would mess up the plot too much to do that. It just seemed more dramatic if everyone thought that they were all dead instead of missing, you know.
Plus, huge explosion, completely destroyed mansion and wheelchair. It's a wonder why they never came up with the concept of death to begin with.
I've rewritten and added to the first few chapters, if you want to reread those, just notifying.
I've still barely gotten any comments, I mean come on! At least write something like, 'great fic, can't wait for next chapter' or something. I know some of y'all are reading. Just read the breakdown I have for this fic in my profile. It'll probably give you some idea of what I'm planning to include in this version of the story.
Reccomend this story to anyone who'd be interested. New readers always welcome.
Disclaimer: I don't own wolverine and the x men. Marvel studios do and they're stupid for cancelling it.
A few minutes earlier:
As Logan and the others sat around the crater, crying as they mourned their friend and teacher. Sure, there had been numerous attempts on both thier lives before now, but it seems like whoever or whatever tried this time succeeded.
Suddenly Betsy felt something with her telepathy. "I sense something." She whispered so lowly that even Logan could barely even register it. Despite that, both him and Warren heard it.
"What was that, bets?" Warren asked curiously, wiping his eyes as he stood back up.
"Was that Twilight Sparkle? Or am I hearing things?" Logan said lowly and Ororo loosened her hold on his strong, warm body a little as she looked down at him. Logan just looked sheepish in his usual demeanor. "What? Blame Kitty wavering Pryde and her constant need to force me into watching cartoons with the pipsqueaks."
Ororo chuckled and shook her head at him while Warren sighed. "Now's not the time for small talk, Logan." The winged man lectured and Logan grunted. The worthington heir then turned to the psionic ninja. "What do you sense, Bets? Is it an enemy?"
"No, I'm feeling some massive amounts of psychic power emanating from that crater." Psylocke said as she stood up, surprising the other three. Betsy walked off in the direction of the forest and pointed south. "There's a trail of it, leading that way."
"That's back in the direction of the house." Warren said, guessing where she was getting at. Betsy nodded. "So something moved Jean and Charles here."
"So whoever did this was like Jean?" Logan presumed.
"It...might've been Jean." Betsy said a little confoundedly and the others looked at her in surprise and confusion.
"You're gonna have to explain that." Logan said gruffly.
"I'm saying that her power is so mixed up with the other ones around here that I can barely find it." Psylocke explained as simply as she could. Logan looked like he was starting to catch on, but was still not entirely seeing the picture.
"I think he's still a little lost, Bets," Warren said, popping in. Logan grunted, almost comically given the situation, though it was just his usual grunt.
Psylocke growled slightly but just sighed as she took a few steps back. "Just watch the pink rainbow."
Everyone looked confused until Betsy's eyes glowed psionic pink and a glowing pink trail in the shape of an arc formed coming out of the crater towards the school and another leading into the forest. In the middle were small yellow traces and a single blue line.
"Whoa, amazing. That must be the trail." Ororo said, amazed by Psylocke's senses. "You've gotten so much better."
"Of course, I am the residential psionic expert. Not to mention I've had years of training experience with Jean." Betsy said, getting a little flustered by the praise.
"Well whaddya know, it is a pink rainbow." Logan said and Betsy scowled, mentally taking back every nice thing she'd pointed out about him earlier. Logan chuckled at her expression but made sure to stay composed. "I'm guessin' that's the trail. Based on that little bomb you dropped earlier."
"Well, no. The trail is mostly this huge overwhelming psionic power," Betsy clarified, the pink glow of her eyes illuminating a small blue glow among the rest of it. "But it does contain traces of Jean's telekinetic power within it. See, the yellow traces represent the professor's telepathic power, while the blue line represents Jean's power."
"That little? Jean's power is alpha level. Hard to imagine she was the underdog in that fight." Logan said.
"Not only that, I used to sometimes overhear the professor and Scott talk about her. Turns out she's had omega level potential since she was a little girl." Warren pointed out. "It only shows how tough whatever got her really is."
"I agree, but there's something interesting." Betsy said and lit up the blue and yellow lines leading from the crater to the school. "See, she was here in the crater. So was Charles."
"We guessed all that on our own, but how about the interesting part?" Logan said a little brashly.
"It's that in the line leading further into the forest, there's traces of Jean's energy escaping into that direction as well." Psylocke clarified and the eyes of her teammates widened in realization. "So,"
"She could've gotten away." Warren deduced and Betsy nodded.
"Psylocke," Logan said, getting her attention. "Can you set up a link between all of us?"
Betsy nodded and a pink glow surrounded her head as she established a connection between her and the others present. She thought it would be harder to connect to Logan's mind, but she managed without much resistence, probably because he'd allowed her in. "All done. Now I can keep tabs on you all, but why did..?" Logan grunted and started walking past them. "Where are you going?"
"To follow that trail. If it's fresh enough I'll pick up a scent." Logan said and sniffed the air. He smirked. "Got it. Follow me."
"Logan, wait-" Betsy tried to say but Logan immediately ran off. "For us. And, he's gone again."
"That jerk, leaving Ororo like that." Betsy said and knelt down, looking at Ororo with sympathy. "You alright, dear?" Storm however, seemed unfazed.
"Yes, but please refrain from calling me dear. I'm 23 years old. It's not appropriate." Storm said, brushing herself off coolly and walking after Logan, while Betsy just stood there, gaping as if she had no idea of what had just occured.
"Hows it feel to get owned by a queen?" Warren asked his ex.
"Perplexingly satisfying." Betsy said and took off after Ororo, with Warren taking to the skies to follow Logan.
X-X-X
Logan ran off further into the forest, following the familiar scents. He growled and changed direction as the trail moved to the right.
'I can't hear anything besides the breathing of those two behind me and the movement of Angel's wings, but I'm picking up Charles' and Jean's scents up ahead.' He sped up and did yet another turn, this time to the left slightly.
Behind him, Storm and Betsy were almost struggling to keep up with the tracker. The only reason the violet haired telepath could keep track of him was because of the telepathic link.
"I never knew you were so quick on your feet." Betsy said casually as she ran beside Storm, trying to keep up with the ebony woman as she ran through the forest, showing off her athleticism that she'd developed during her few years as a young assassin and only further increasing them with her almost three years as one of the X-Men.
"Did you think I was only quick in the air?" Storm said incredulously and began running faster, leaving behind a gaping Psylocke as she watched the weather goddess run several meters in front of her. In the three years she'd known her, she'd never seen her this active, even on missions.
'Who knew she was that athletic?' She thought as she upped her pace, not wanting to be left behind. "I'm just wondering why you're not flying."
What Betsy didn't know, was that she'd always stick to running whenever she was feeling sad or down about herself. It was a habit she'd kept from her childhood, along with a few scars. Not that Betsy knew that. It wasn't that Psylocke didn't care, Ororo was sure she did, she just didn't like talking about her childhood much.
She quickly came up with a valid reason. "Warren is much better at mid-air maneuvering than I am, meaning in this situation where an ambush is likely I'd only hinder his capabilities, so it would be better if I stayed close to the ground." Ororo said then looked up ahead. "He's stopped." Betsy's response was stopped as she looked and sure enough, Logan was crouched down in front of a large bush. Betsy and Ororo shared a look and nodded in agreement.
"Why'd you stop?" Betsy said as she and Storm crouched down behind Logan.
"Shh." Logan said quietly and turned back to listening in front of him, looking for any sounds indicating movement or life.
"Don't ssh me, use the mental link." She hissed out as quietly as she could and Logan ignored her.
'But not using it pisses you off more.' Warren sent through the link teasingly and Betsy scowled in annoyance.
'Do you see anything, Angel?' Logan sent up through the link and waited.
"I'll repeat myself; Why did you stop?" Betsy said again more firmly.
"Cause your trail stops just up ahead, psionic expert." Logan responded irritably and Betsy looked up, seeing the line. The assassin blushed as Ororo smirked knowingly. "I don't hear anything." He then checked the link. 'Got something for me?'
'Yeah, but you won't like it.' Warren said wearily back and Logan narrowed his eyes as he looked back. "I'll go on ahead. Wait here in case someone tries to kill me. If they do, then don't help me." Logan said as he walked forward through the bush. Betsy scoffed at his foolish sense of pride while Ororo found herself wishing he'd stop trying to push them away.
'That jerk, who does he think he is? We can take care of ourselves.' Betsy fumed through the link as she sat behind a nearby tree, not appreciating having to deal with one of Logan's chivalrous kicks right now of all times.
'You shouldn't presume to know his motives like that.' Ororo said chastisingly as Betsy gritted her teeth in frustration. The african queen couldn't blame her, his behaviour frustrated her at times as well, despite the fact that she understood it. 'It is just his way of keeping us safe, by wanting to keep us out of harm's way.'
The former assassin sighed as she realized the slightly younger woman was right. 'Yeah, I know, I just hate being treated like some kind of fragile flower by him sometimes. I mean there's no reason for it. I'm an assassin who's pretty much on his level, and have pulled his ass out of dozens of fires over the years, so why doesn't he let me help?'
'Most likely his protective instincts, like he is afraid of losing his pack.' Storm said solemnly and Betsy looked up in surprise at that answer. Storm's eyes widened as she said it and tried to wave it off. 'Forget I said anything.' Betsy's eyes softened a little as she reevaluated her overall opinion of Logan.
'No, now that I think about it it's quite sweet. It's just that it sounds a little too profound for Logan.' Betsy pointed out and Storm chuckled, not denying it.
'Ordinarily, I'd agree, but he has proven to be quite the interesting creature.' Storm said fondly and smiled softly. Betsy thought about it for a second before both women's attention were caught as they heard a loud familiar growling behind them. "Sounds like it's bad news." She said out loud this time and Betsy nodded in agreement as both women stood up.
Logan growled as he saw the sight in front of him, his fists clenched in contained anger as his claws were itching to come out. Now he knew what Warren meant. All that was visible to the eye was burnt ground. That, and more trees that had the same weird smell as the crater, just a little less strong. If there was any trace of a person's scent there, it was being masked by that overwhelming musk of psionic power.
He sniffed as hard as he could, trying to find something, anything. He growled and walked past the burnt dirt to see if the scent continued in any direction. He kept walking around and towards the edge of the treeline, trying to find some semblance of a scent or pick up some far off movement.
"Anything there?" Ororo called out and Logan remembered he'd told the girls to hang back.
"No, it's all clear." Logan said frustratedly. Storm walked out of the bush and Betsy stayed back for a moment just in case this was a trap.
Storm frowned at the sight. "Something definitely happened here."
Logan scoffed. "Brilliant observation, even I could've formed a more intelligent sentance than that." Logan said harshly and Ororo gave him a stern glare. Regret flashed through Logan's eyes as he averted his gaze from hers, not able to meet it. "Sorry, I'm just, on edge."
"You're not on edge, you're heartbroken." Storm corrected and walked towards him. Logan looked up with pain-filled eyes and the taller woman hugged him tightly, letting his head rest on her shoulder. Ororo rubbed his head soothingly, hoping to ease his torment. "You're in pain, maybe even more so than the rest of us, so try not to keep it locked inside." With that Logan groaned lowly, though it came out more as a sigh.
"There you go, making me feel all special, 'Roro." Logan said and Ororo smiled, enjoying the gentleness in his tone. She loved it when he was like this, even if it were under less devastating circumstances. "It's really annoying."
"Well then you are just going to have to deal with it, because I quite like holding you like this." Ororo said, enjoying the firm muscles and strength of his masculine form.
"Don't tell anyone, but the feelin's mutual." Logan said, enjoying the feel of her soft body against his. The scent of her lovely hair smelled like fresh rain and filled his senses with a sense of tranquility even amongst the turmoil.
"I'll never tell a soul." She said softly as she breathed in his wild masculine scent. It always seemed to excite her senses and yet soothe them at the same time. Most people thought he smelled bad, that wasn't true. His smell was a little thick, but it was full of masculinity and strength
Feeling no nearby threat, Betsy came out from behind the tree and was met with the sight of a hugging Ororo and Logan. For some reason, she felt a kind of weird feeling she couldn't describe seeing the fearsome Wolverine looking so peaceful in a woman's arms. 'You don't see that every day.'
'We heard that.' The two hugging people said through the link as they seperated, their hands lingering a few seconds longer than normal.
"Is there anything you can find? 'Cause my nose isn't picking anything up." Logan said, feeling a little calmer.
"Give me a second to look." Betsy said and her eyes glowed pink. Her eyes widened at the unexpected sight. "Holy shit!"
"Sounds like you found something." Storm said amusedly and Logan chuckled, having wanted to say the line himself. The weather goddess and him shared a smile before Logan smirked and nodded his head towards Betsy. Ororo looked a little confused before she realized he meant she was forgetting to answer the psychic assassin. "Where is it?" Storm said curiously.
Although not entirely pleased at being forgotten so easily, Betsy decided to let it go on account of she found the sight of the two interacting with each other to be admittedly really cute. "Fine, but you both owe me a good drink. Nothing cheap, like your usual drinks Logan."
"Fine, just say it nicely so I'll be more persuaded to get you something better than cheap whiskey." Logan said with a cunning smirk.
"Don't listen to him, just tell us you see something." Ororo said, sending a chastising look Logan's way. The bulky man shrugged it off and Betsy sighed, knowing she'd have to speak up before they got lost in their own little world again.
"Yes, something would be the correct term, I suppose. A whole lot of 'something'." Betsy said and her eyes returned to normal again. "It's, almost as if a gigantic psionic dust cloud were covering the entire clearing. There's no clear trail, just a giant cloud of residue."
"So basically, we just had a moment on a psychic shit stain." Logan said to Storm and both girls giggled slightly before Betsy cleared her throat and regained her composure.
"It's definitely the same as the crater, but the trail is so scattered I can't find a trace of anything except this. All trace of Jean's and Xavier's power is gone." Betsy said and Logan moved away from Ororo, who watched his form with concern.
"That means," Logan said as his arms dropped to his sides.
"They're really gone after all." Ororo finished sadly.
"Damn it! Hrraa!" Logan yelled out and stabbed his claws straight into a nearby tree trunk. He took a couple of deep breaths and growled as he sheathed his claws. "Sorry, I just needed that. Is there anything more you can pick up?"
Betsy concentrated as her eyes lit up even brighter than before as she performed a psychic sweep. She found no trace of others in the area. She reluctantly shook her head. "Nothing. The trail ends here."
"I just looked around the area. Looks like whoever was here is long gone, too." Warren said as he landed, having been scoping out the area in case any runners had tried to slip away. "So what happens now?"
"Now you send a message to Bobby so that Scott doesn't panic." Storm said and the girl in question nodded before focusing as hard as she could on her link with Bobby, trying to reestablish the connection despite the distance from each other.
"I can't reach him from this range, but I know where he is. Apparantly he's in the underground with the rest of the team." Betsy said and her eyes returned to their normal blue. "What now?"
"Next we regroup with the others. There's nothing left for us here." Logan said turned away from the sight.
"You don't want to go after what got Jean and Charles?" Betsy asked him with a light tone of surprise.
"Course I do, but even I'm not dumb enough to pick a fight with something that makes juggernaut look like toad." Logan said calmly and placed a comforting arm around 'Ro, who welcomed his embrace. "C'mon, let's head back."
As Logan lead Storm back in the direction of the destroyed manor, Warren moved to stand beside Betsy.
"Wanna follow their lead?" Warren asked her.
"Why not, I mean, we're headed the same way." Psylocke said nonchalantly.
"I meant getting closer." Warren said, getting a little flustered.
"So did I." Betsy said and smiled playfully, surprising Warren. The asian beauty giggled and linked her arm with his. "Come on, they're getting too far ahead."
X-X-X
Back to the present...
Every student was gathered around the four x men, watching them, as were the others who'd just come above ground.
"What the hell happened?" Scott, being the leader, naturally talked first.
"Storm?" Kitty approached the weather goddess. Hearing her voice, Ororo released herself from Logan's embrace and promptly hugged Kitty, who was more than a little shocked by the embrace. She returned the hug, though she admittedly felt a little jealous of what was pressing against her chest. She mentally shook her head to clear those thoughts. "What happened over there?"
Storm sniffled a little and tightened the hug a little. "Oh, Kitty." The weather goddesses african accent that normally made her seem like a queen now only expressed a feeling of deep sorrow.
"Storm?" Kitty asked her but got no response. She looked at Logan, who was almost looking like he was on the verge of tears, yet he seemed to be keeping himself together.
"Logan, what happened?" Bobby asked him, finding his nerve. Logan took a slightly annoyed breath and steeled his nerve. He was the Wolverine! No matter what happened, he was still that.
"Jeanie, and the professor, they're….gone." Logan said tightly, bowing his head slightly. There was a dead silence for a minute as the news hit everyone's ears.
"What?!" Everyone who had gathered around shouted out in shock as the news hit their ears. There were a lot of questions, obviously, but most people were either too in shock or too tired to say anything. The only ones who stepped forward were the present x-men.
"What do you mean, gone?" Hank asked curiously. He couldn't mean, gone? Could he?
"They're gone, burnt to ash." Logan said sullenly. He was so lost in mourning and conjured bravado that he missed Scott giving him a hard slug across the face.
"Scott!" Kitty yelled out but didn't escape Ororo's hold. She wasn't really worried about Logan, it was Scott she was worried about if he got Logan too worked up.
"What are you talking about, Logan?! I swear if you're fucking around, I'll…" Scott barked out but he calmed down a little as he saw Logan's face. The shorter man looked like he was just barely holding himself together. Taking advantage of the fact that his so-called 'leader' wasn't hitting him again, he stood up and wiped his cheek, the pain already gone. He had to give Summers credit, though, that hit would've broken a normal man's jaw.
"They're dead, Scott." Logan said gruffly. Scott's and everybody else's jaw dropped. Did Logan just call Scott by his first name? Logan just ignored them. He had to say this while he still had the nerve. He stood up and firmly stared straight into Scott's eyes through the glasses. "They're gone, for good."
"No, no, no, I don't believe it!" Scott yelled out in denial. He just felt angry, sad and confused, but mostly alone. The man who had become his father and the woman that he'd loved, were gone.
"Believe it, Summers. It's all true." Logan said and bowed his head out of shame that he couldn't do anything. He could hear Scott's breathing quicken to the point of hyperventilating, but he ignored him. It was natural for someone like Scott to freak out at a time like this, but Logan picked a bad time to be stupid...
Scott had a lot of emotion running through his head, but it wasn't sadness. Oh, no. All he could focus on right now, was anger! And he had the perfect place to aim it too! "It's all your fault!" He yelled out and he lifted his glasses, firing a massive beam at Wolverine, who cried out an animalistic cry of pain as he was sent back several feet onto his back.
"Logan!" Hank, Kitty and Ororo yelled out, surprising some people as they hadn't expected Storm to speak up at all.
Logan groaned and rubbed his head as he glared at Scott who was looking at him with one of the most hateful glares he'd ever seen. "The hell was that for?"
"It's all your fault, you asshole!" Scott yelled and sent another blast at Logan, who cried out in pain as he lost more of his shirt and his flesh got burned a little. Luckily his healing factor was healing most of the damage already. "It's your fault she's gone! That they're both gone for good!"
Knowing that the boy scout needed to be put in his place, Logan did a kick up to get himself back on his feet and popped his neck to reset anything out of place. "So that's your plan, just keep blasting at me until I'm dead too? Not very logical, boss." He let out a predatory smile as he popped his claws and rushed towards Scott with a growl. Everyone watched with widened eyes as their worst fears were realized. The Wolverine had come out. By now the non and less-injured students had come from the backyard to watch the fight.
"Just shut up already and fight." Scott said and fired a few scattering blasts by turning his head in different directions.
Logan dodged one of the blasts, then stabbed one of the rocks unearthed by a stray beam with his right claw and tossed it at Scott.
Scott simply lifted his glasses, firing straight through the rock and directly at Logan, whose eyes widened in surprise before he stepped to the right, dodging the blast.
"So, you're serious, huh big man?" Logan said smirking. He rolled his shoulders and ripped the remains of his shirt from his torso. Some of the girls blushed at the sight of his upper body but stopped as they realized that it was no time for gawking. Logan smirked as he felt the beast stir. His eyes began to darken and Scott's eyes widened as he realized what Logan was doing; he was going berserker. If that happened then they were all finished. "Then I guess I'll have to try harder." Logan said and roared gutterally, charging at Scott even faster than before.
Scott, now desperate to finish this fight as soon as possible out of fear of what Logan was capable of fully unleashed, fired a beam at Logan who side-stepped and dodged, continuing his advance. His grief and anger overriding his tactical knowledge and reason, Scott growled and fired another blast directly at Logan, who dodged using a right side flip and crouched before sprinting towards Scott. Desperate to make sure that Logan didn't reach him, Scott gritted his teeth and fired more blasts, hoping that one would hit the shorter man and finally kill him.
"We have to do something." Betsy said. Kitty nodded. The two were about to intervene when the least likely person stopped them.
"Wait!" The ice mutant yelled out and everyone stopped and looked at him. Bobby opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted as Logan roared once. Bobby stepped forward calmly and readied his ice. "Just wait."
"For what? For Logan to rip Scott to shreds?! Or maybe he'll actually run him through mercifully before that. Either way something has to be done." Betsy yelled incredulously and created a psionic blade. Bobby glared back at her, a deep blue icy nerve in his eyes that wasn't normally there made Betsy stagger a little. Normally, even when Bobby was in ice form, his eyes were always warm. This was something else. There was a certain power and depth that was there now in his eyes. It was almost as if it wasn't Bobby. Betsy nodded and deactivated her blade.
"Everything will be alright." The young x-man nodded and looked towards the battle that was currently unfolding. "Just trust me. Look, it looks like it's just about over." Bobby said and everyone turned their attention back towards what the student's were calling the 'fight of the year'.
Logan dodged the incoming blasts and roared gutterally at Scott, who looked taken aback by the sound. Logan grinned dangerously and ran full speed towards Cyclops, claws outstretched and ready to shred their target as Logan dove forwards Scott.
"Logan!" The other x-men yelled out and everyone yelled out..but paused for a second.
Logan dove towards Scott, claws first. Scott froze and was stuck in place as he awaited his death. At the last second, Logan retracted his claws, lowered his hands down into a forward handspring and flipped himself down right in front of a surprised Scott, grabbing his head on both sides and holding the glasses in place. Scott looked shocked as he realized he wasn't dead.
Logan grinned cunningly at the blatant look of shock on Scott's (and he imagined everyone else's) face. "Got ya." Logan said and brought his head back before slamming his forehead against Scott's. Now in most cases, that would leave both people disoriented. But Logan had an adamantium skeleton. That meant that to Scott, that hit really hurt like a bitch.
Scott fell to the ground, dizzy and very much disoriented from that hit, but he was still conscious.
Logan took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He'd nearly lost himself a few times during that fight. Luckily he was able to keep his concentration like Jean had taught him. The thought of Jean pained him a little but he shrugged it off for the moment. He'd have time to mourn with a bottle or six of whiskey later.
He turned towards the still stunned audience, who looked very much relieved that he hadn't actually lost control. "What?"
His response came in the form of an irate Kitty coming up and slapping him across the face, which actually stung a little cause that was new flesh.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack doing that, you jerk." Kitty said, putting her hands on her dainty hips.
"Sorry about that." Logan said with an unapologetic smirk. Kitty rolled her eyes, having expected that reaction out of him.
"Yeah, well don't do it again." Kitty said scoldingly, but then she surprised everyone (well, everyone besides Hank) by wrapping Logan up in a huge hug. It was a little awkward since she was taller than him, but it was still nice. Kitty kept her head to the side to hide her blush a little. "This was supposed to be your goodbye, now I'm just glad you're safe." She said quietly and she smiled a little in relief.
Logan blinked in surprise. He definitely hadn't been expecting something this bold from her, or this intimate, but he wasn't complaining, especially while feeling those soft, admittedly a little small breasts of hers pressed up against his chest. He wrapped a large arm around Kitty and enjoyed the warmth that she offered.
"You really had us all worried there for a second." Storm said, looking a little better than before, while enjoying the exchange like the others. It was definitely the highlight of the day so far. At this, Kitty separated from the hug and just stood next to Logan with slightly flushed cheeks.
Logan smiled at Ororo. "I had everything under control, 'Ro." His face then grew more caring. "How are you doing?"
Storm felt herself flush a little at his concern and the nickname but shook it off. "I'll be okay. I can't say for sure that I'm 'alright' at the moment, but I'm ok." She said and Logan nodded, knowing nothing more could be said on the matter. Logan smirked at the blush and Ororo turned her head slightly, blushing a little harder. Everyone smiled at the exchange.
"I still don't believe it. They can't be gone." Scott said softly, only just regaining his senses. His head still really hurt, though. Logan briefly wondered if he hit him too hard for a second but shook it off. He saw Kitty take a few steps away from him as she wisely moved out of the way.
"They're dead, Summers, it's about time you-" Logan said firmly but Scott cut him off.
"They're not dead, you bastard! They can't be dead! They're too strong to-" this time Logan cut him off while dragging him back to his feet by the collar.
"Open your eyes, Frat boy! That's why they were targeted. Whoever or whatever did this wanted them gone. That's why no one else is gone but them." Logan said and the words started to register in Scott's mind. Logan released him as the words swirled around. It was true, besides Jean and the professor, there was no one missing or… dead.
"But they could still be alive. I refuse to believe tha-" Scott argued weakly.
"Believe it, Summers! It's true. I tracked their scent anywhere I could find it and found nothing. Just a few pieces of clothing that had Jean's or Charles' scent but no trail. Warren searched the skies, hell Psylocke even did a psychic sweep. We found nothing, so either a teleporter even better than the elf grabbed them or they're dead."
At this, Scott dropped his head as the reality finally set in. "This can't be."
"It is, Scott." Warren said, finally making an effort to speak. Scott turned his head to his first friend and fellow original x-man, not used to seeing him so sullen. "I saw the crater myself. Nothing but charred earth, ash and…" he paused as the memory came back. "A destroyed wheelchair."
There were gasps as those words spread around the yard. 'The professor's gone?' 'What'll we do?' 'Where will we go?' 'Do you want to go get some lunch?' Those were some of the questions being spread around amongst the students.
"He's right, Scott. There were no human remains, but.." Betsy started but was interrupted as Scott ran towards her, gripping her shoulders tightly. It was almost on the verge of being painful.
"That means they could still be alive; Logan said it himself. Betsy, please. You have to use your telepathy to find them. Or use them to check to see if it's really his chair, or use your psionic powers, or." Scott rambled but stopped as Logan slugged him in the face, sending him flying a few feet and forcing Scott to release his hold on Betsy, who sighed a little in relief.
"That's enough, Summers! This time I'll be doing the thrashing." Logan growled out as he popped his claws, still smoking a little from the earlier blasts.
"Logan?! What the fu-" Bobby said and was about to rush forward to help Scott when Hank held out his large arm to stop him in his tracks. He looked at the man beside him. "Hank? What are you..?"
Hank kept his eye on the situation in front of him. "Let's just let them do this. It may be ill timed, but this is something that needs to happen right now." Hank said and then sent the teenager a knowing smirk. "Besides, do you really want to get involved?"
Bobby shivered out of fear and shook his head. Beast then dropped his arm and then crossed both across his chest, thinking. Bobby was acting so different during the previous fight. For a brief few moments, he'd become like a different person. Now he seemed to be back to his normal teenage self. In all the years that he'd known the young man, he'd never seen that side of Bobby before. He'd have to perform some testing later on.
Bobby was a little put off by the look on Hank's face but didn't say anything out of respect for his older teammate, so he backed off. But he kept his ice powers ready just in case...
Scott wiped his mouth as he got back to his feet in an awkward looking lunging position, trying to stand up whilst feeling the exhaustion from walking through those tunnels earlier and their earlier fight. "The hell was that for?" He said weakly, getting back to his feet and sending a threatening glare Logan's way.
Logan fought back with one of his own. "You know what that was for." Logan growled lowly. The younger students flinched at that tone and the x-men tensed slightly. That growl meant Logan was pissed, and to stay out of his way. "You're out of control, kid. You need to calm down."
Scott scoffed harshly at that comment. "You, telling me to calm down? Heh, that's a laugh."
"I'm not the one who was acting like a maniac a few moments ago." 'For once.' Logan added under his breath. He said and walked over to Scott. The shorter man retracted his claws and grabbed Scott by what was left of his collar. "It's time to face reality now, sport. Your father and ex are gone. You should be mourning and honoring their memories, not picking fights and killing your teammates that you're supposed to be leading." Logan tossed him to the ground, disgusted by his behaviour. This was the man that he'd been following the last few years? No, the man before him was not the man he'd come to respect, not that he ever said it. "What happened to the fearless leader of the x-men? The man who swore to uphold the rights of the professor no matrer what? What would Charles say if he saw you here disregarding the very principles he taught you?" Logan said and Scott gasped lightly as he realized how right Logan actually was. The professor wouldn't have wanted this, or Jean. He'd just made a huge mistake; and what was possibly worse was, that Logan had been the one to snap him out of it.
Logan let go of the collar and stepped away, Scott fell to his knees again. Logan then sent something to Betsy through the mental link she'd set up earlier after they'd found the crash site. With a slight nod, Betsy brought her hand to her forehead and activated her telepathy as a pink glow surrounded her head.
Scott just sat there, thinking hard before he felt a sudden exhaustion and he passed out. Betsy sighed as she lowered her fingers from her forehead. To stop him from completely losing it, she used a little telepathy to calm his mind a little. She didn't really like doing this to her friends, but sometimes it was necessary.
"So what do we do about him?" Bobby asked, being genuinely concerned for his friend.
"For now we'll let him rest. He's had a rough day." Logan grabbed the taller man and lifted him up, easily putting him over his large shoulder. "For now I'll just put him with the wounded."
Hank nodded. "Good call. Let's give him a chance to recover, while we decide what to do next." The doctor said and everyone gave a silent nod in reply. They had to make a decision as to what their next move would be.
As Logan walked away towards the medical beds and blankets they'd set up in the backyard, he turned his head towards Warren. "Hey flyboy." He said. And everyone turned their heads as to what he had to say. "About Rogue. Did you find her?" Warren, Hank, Kitty and Bobby all winced a little at the mention of Rogue. It was still fresh in their minds.
Warren just looked Logan dead in the eye. "What do you think?" He asked him.
Logan nodded his understanding and walked away with Scott on his shoulder. No more words needed. Well, for Logan to say, anyway.
"Wait, Rogue's gone?" Betsy asked, not happy that another of her friends was missing or kidnapped.
Warren nodded. "Yeah, I found her running off through the forest. Don't worry, she's safe. She just needs some time." Warren said reassuringly to his exes and Ororo let out a sigh of relief at that.
"Thank goodness." Storm and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
Betsy looked inquisitively at Warren. "Is that where you were when you said you'd found something earlier?" Betsy said, now realizing why he'd cut off the link earlier, but still pissed that he did it in the first place.
Warren smirked at her. "Yeah, sorry about that. I needed some quiet to sneak up on her, and your nagging would have given away my position."
"Nagging? Is that what you call concern for your well-being you spoiled little ass?!" Betsy fired back at him and the two would've started fighting had it not been for Bobby who put an ice wall between them. Everyone turned to look at the teenager who was now standing sheepishly at the end of the wall.
"Alright, kids. That's enough. I think we've had enough fighting for one day, alright?" Bobby said, chuckling nervously. Betsy and Warren blinked before looking at each other. Realization as well as shame both filled their faces as they lowered their heads humbly.
"I'm sorry." Both of them said at the same time. They both looked up at each other and smiled simultaneously. Everyone around them was a little confused by the action but smiled as they watched the little bit of normalcy that was involved in today.
Then tears poured down Betsy's cheeks, and her smiles turned into sobs. As Betsy cried, Warren's face hardened a little and he gestured for Bobby to lower the ice wall. Bobby flinched and nodded as he snapped out of his shock at the sight. He used his power to dissolve the ice he created. After it was gone, Warren nodded his thanks and took a step forward, holding his arms out. Betsy immediately flung herself into his chest, fully letting out her tears and her sad cries.
"It's okay. It'll be alright." Warren said softly in her ear. Betsy nodded and let her tears out into Warren's firm chest.
Everyone smiled sadly at the exchange. While they were happy to see the two so close, they did wish it weren't because of the circumstances.
"We should probably get ready." Hank said. The others nodded and went towards what used to be the elevator shaft down to the lower levels while Hank stayed behind for a second. "I'll be there in a sec."
The others nodded and left Hank to do his thing. "You gonna be alright?" Hank asked the pair.
"We'll be fine. Just give us a few minutes." Warren said. Hank nodded in understanding and joined the others.
"You doin' alright?" Warren asked the girl in his arms.
Betsy wiped her tears and looked up at him, sniffling. "Yeah, I'm alright. Your chest helps a little." She chuckled. Warren chuckled.
"Glad my chest could be of service." Betsy giggled and rolled her eyes at this. Warren smiled, liking the smile she had on her face. The next words came out of his mouth without him entirely realizing it. "If you ever need someone to cry on, my chest will always be here, alright?" Betsy flushed at this statement.
Betsy blinked. "Who knew that divine beings could be so sappy?" She teased.
"I'm not so much divine as I am a bird, Bets." Warren chuckled, blushing slightly.
"Well, you are much more to me than just a bird." Betsy said firmly. Her face then grew playful. "You're also a major pain in my ass."
Warren playfully winced, playing along. "Ouch. Queen Psylocke's got some roasts." Betsy giggled at his compliment, wrapping her arms around him once more. Warren smiled at her but sighed as he shifted his gaze to the large 'hole'in the ground. "I think it's time we joined the others." He said but was stopped by Betsy tightening her grip on his chest. He looked down and saw her face blushing slightly.
"Can we just... stay here a little longer?" Betsy asked shyly, her blue eyes pleading with him. Warren nodded with a soft smile, happy to just hold her in his arms right now. Betsy sighed in contentment, happy to just have him close to her as well.
X-X-X
Several hours later.
All of the remaining x-men were now present in the war room, wearing a spare outfit that they each kept in the underground. Hank, Storm and Bobby had all insisted that they hold the discussion until every x-man was present. Everyone present had either gauze/bandaids on their face/arms. All except Logan who was leaning against the wall in his usual bad boy manner, while everyone else was either standing around the room or sitting at the table/console.
Scott was now present, having regained some composure now that he'd calmed down and rested from his earlier skirmish with Logan. He was wearing a fresh black t-shirt and navy jeans.
Colossus was out of his metal form, leaving him much less hulking than before. He was now standing about a foot shorter than he was in his organic steel form now at 6'6" tall, which still made him the tallest in the room. His skin was tanned and his body leaned out a bit, making him just slightly more muscular than Wolverine. His hair was black with a long silver streak running through it. He was wearing a black t-shirt and navy jeans.
Kurt, having felt better enough to move from his bed, decided to join them. He was wearing a fresh version of his uniform, and was sitting down in a chair as ordered by Kitty and Scott. Once he'd seen the demon-like mutant wince as Kitty touched his arm, it was immediately decided.
Logan, Storm, Hank, Bobby, Kitty, Betsy and Warren were wearing a fresh set of clothes that they had in storage for worst case scenarios. Now, all of the x-men, except for Jean and Rogue, were present.
Scott cleared his throat. "Now that everyone's here, it's think it's time to start-" he started but he was interrupted as a heavily panting Forge ran into the war room.
"Sorry I'm late. I had to double check to make sure that nothing volatile blew up down here." Forge said, pointing his thumb towards the hanger and experimental tech that he worked on. Forge was wearing an x-men uniform that was more designed like a mechanic's jumpsuit with a yellow vest overtop it. The real surprise, though, was the left metal leg he had that seemed like it belonged in the medieval era as some knight's prosthetic.
"And where the hell have you been?" Kitty yelled. Forge flinched at her angry tone, not really knowing why she was angry. Her look of anger then changed to one of confusion. "Wait, who are you?"
Forge slumped in slight depression as he realized she didn't even know him. Hank sighed and came to the man's rescue. "His name's Forge; he's a mutant supergenius and one of the greatest minds in the world when it comes to technology."
"Then how come I've never seen him before?" Kitty asked. Most of them shrugged, not having really interacted with Forge before.
Logan chuckled. "It's 'cause he's practically always in his lab or somewhere else underground. Hell, he doesn't even leave to eat most days." Everyone groaned as they finally realized who Forge was. Forge just sighed and stood next to Hank, who patted his shoulder.
"Now that everyone's here." Scott said, referring to Forge, who sighed dejectedly. "I guess it's time to begin this meeting."
"We have a serious decision to make. Might I suggest that we get through protocol first." Storm suggested. Scott nodded and sighed tiredly.
"Alright then. First things first, injuries and casualties." Scott said.
Betsy stepped forward. "13 students have been hospitalized with broken or bruised bones. The rest are either in the backyard resting or searching through rubble for anything that survived."
"Have they found anything?" Logan asked. Betsy seemed surprised by him being the one to ask the question, but she shook it off.
"Yeah. The garage was mostly alright, just a few toolboxes knocked over. All of the vehicles are in decent shape." Betsy said and then turned to the Wolverine. "And yes, Logan, that includes your bike." Logan nodded, smiling smugly, happy to at least still have his Harley safe and sound. "Other than that, everything from our rooms, the classes and everything else was vaporized by the blast."
"Yes, it is unfortunate that we're left with so little." Hank said then looked over to his friend. "Now, I believe Scott has an announcement to make. " Hank backed away and Scott stepped forward, taking a shaky breath. His face was tense, almost as if he was trying his hardest not to completely break down.
"Later, Hank. First we have to read out Chuck's will." Logan said, trying to move things along. Hank nodded respectfully.
"Wait, the professor had a will?" Betsy asked, surprised.
"Yeah, it's been in the mainframe for years now." Bobby said as if it were obvious. Everyone looked at him with suspicion.
"And just why do you know about the will, Bobby?" Hank asked him.
"I just found it one day while I was looking through the computer, that's all." Bobby said nervously, eyes fidgeting.
"The man was the target of multiple attacks over the years, most of which happened inside these walls. If anything I'd have been surprised if he didn't have one." Hank said logically. Everyone nodded. Bobby sighed in relief and just sat back. Hank nodded and accessed the main terminal. He paused for a moment as he spotted the file containing Charles' will. He let out a shaky sigh and calmed himself down. "Let us see what Charles has left for us."
Everyone, even Forge and Bobby were silent as the blue holographic image of a smiling Charles in his wheelchair appeared. "Hello, this part is just a warning in case Bobby has clicked on the wrong file looking for his porn again." Everyone burst out laughing at Bobby, who was now trying to hide his blushing face in his hands. Even Logan couldn't help but laugh at the kid's embarrassed face and Kitty and Kurt were almost falling out of their chairs. Good ol' Chuck, savage even in the afterlife. "This message will end in 10 seconds. If you truly intend to watch this video, I suggest you sit down, for this might be hard to hear for some present." Everyone took a few more seconds to giggle (except Kitty, who only stopped after getting a telepathic threat from Betsy to stop or else she'd plant her thong in Logan's bag.)
"Hello, my X-Men. If you're seeing this message then I have unfortunately passed away. I'm not sure how many of you are present but hopefully all of you have outlived me." Everyone frowned as they remembered Jean. "If all of you haven't, then I'm sorry for being insensitive." He paused and took a deep breath, as if to gather his thoughts. "I'd always hoped to see you all outgrow me and the institute, to find meaningful lives in a peaceful world where mutants and humans are treated as equals. My only regret is that I did not live to see that happen." At that Warren placed an arm around Betsy's shoulder. All of the others got closer together, moving towards the table. All except Logan, who didn't feel it was appropriate. Storm and Kitty looked at him pleadingly. He sighed and walked over to them. They smiled victoriously and he rolled his eyes.
"I will not stop any of you from leaving." Logan knew that one was about him. Apparantly so did everyone else because he could feel their eyes on him. "It is your choice whether you stay or go, but I hope that no matter where your individual paths may lead you from here on, you'll all be there to support one another as a family. I hope to meet you all in the next life, until then I encourage you all to live your lives and reach more hearts throughout your experiences." Charles smiled warmly and most of the people in the room started crying, expecially Ororo and Kitty who buried their faces each in one of Logan's shoulders. Logan sighed irritatedly, rubbing their backs and doing his best to soothe them both. Hank and Bobby looked at him with pity. Logan just glared at them.
"I pray that this doesn't happen, but there might be a day when the world shall need the X-Men again. I do hope that when the time comes, that you can all join together and work as a team. I've left all details retaining the property in the file attached to this video." Charles said. His eyes then grew about as warm as they could get. "I wish all of you the very best. You've all earned it. Goodbye, my children, and good luck." He finished and the holograhic display shut off. Everyone spent a few minutes in mourning.
Scott exhaled. Hearing all of that made this next part much harder. He just didn't know what else to do at the moment.
Hank cleared his throat, gathering everyone's attention. "I believe that our leader has something to say."
"Yeah, about that...Everyone, I have an announcement. Starting today I will be stepping down as leader of the x-men." Scott said with finality. Everyone had their mouths open in shock, even Logan, who hadn't ever expected those words to seriously come from 'one-eye's' mouth. Scott's eye twitched slightly under his glasses. "Did I stutter?"
"Ok, what the hell for?" Bobby said immediately. Everyone else backed off, knowing how this would turn out. When these two argued, it usually wasnt settled until one or both of them was in the infirmary. "You've always been our leader Scott, ever since we were kids. I mean you-" Bobby tried to argue it but Scott raised his hand, stopping the rant.
"We'll still have access to our accounts, and the professor insisted that he leave management of his accounts and the estate to Jean, Ororo, Hank and myself in case of his.. passing." Scott continued.
"Hey, I'm still talking to you, Scott! Why are you so insistent that you're not the leader?" Bobby asked, trying to reason with him.
"Because I don't deserve to be. Look, just listen; After what happened today I realized that I'm no longer qualified to lead the x-men. My fight with Logan earlier showed me that right now, I just don't have it in me to lead." Scott explained weakly.
"Come on, since when have you ever taken what Logan says seriously?" Bobby asked as if said man wasn't in the room glaring at him, his claws about to come out. Colossus tapped Bobby's shoulder. Bobby looked up at his old friend. "What?" Peter Bobby turned around and froze (heh, ice puns). "Uh, heheh, about that comment, I'm really sorry." He said sheepishly. Logan glared at him but walked away, too tired to put up with his antics.
"That's enough, Bobby. If you want to keep arguing, you can take it up with my visor, understand?" Scott said as firmly as he could, his glasses flashing as a bit of power ran across them. Bobby backed up and the other occupants of the room said nothing more on the matter.
"Good, now that that's been settled it's time for our other announcement." Storm said, trying to steel her nerves.
"What could be worse than Scott stepping down as leader?" Bobby asked, though he was sure he'd regret saying that right after he did. Scott winced a little but didn't move from his spot.
"The other news is that the Xavier school for the gifted is closed down, effective immediately." Storm said, waiting for the blow-up. It was completely silent as people were trying to figure out if it was a lie. Storm shook her head, as if reading their thoughts.
"What?!" Came the surprised responses of the younger x-men and Forge. The others were shocked as well, but didn't verbalize it.
Kitty was the first to speak up. "What do you mean, closed down?"
Ororo sighed deeply and lowered her head. "It's just as it sounds. Without Charles there is no school, so there's no point in keeping it open. It'll be closed down and the kids sent home."
"You can't do this! A lot of people rely on this school!" Colossus said in his thick russian accent.
"This isn't right. You heard the professor, he wouldn't want-" Kitty argued.
"That's not what's important right now!" Ororo yelled out and everyone could swear they heard thunder coming from overhead. Ororo didn't care as she wept silently except for a few odd sobs. "Right now nor I or any of us in any condition to even take care of ourselves, let alone an entire school of children!" She yelled out in anguish. Logan wordlessly walked over to her and offered her his chest, which she accepted eagerly.
Everyone lowered their heads. Storm was right. Most of them were either injured, too young or too emotionally beaten right now to do anything more than grieve. As Logan soothed her pain, everyone could hear the noise outside lessen as Storm calmed down. After a few seconds, she fell asleep in Logan's arms. He picked her up into a bridal carry and carried her over to a bunk they kept in the corner of the room they used on long nights. Personally he thought it wasn't good enough for her, but it was all they had so he laid her down on it anyway and stayed by her side, watching her sleep.
"Vhat vill we do now?" Kurt asked.
"We'll have to send the kids home to their families." Hank said defeatedly.
"Where will they all go?" Kitty asked observantly. "I mean, it's not like all of them have homes to go to.
"I'll contact Moira Mactaggert and see if she can find homes for those without homes." Hank said then sighed tiredly as he sat down. "Poor dear. The news is going to destroy her."
"What if she can't find homes for them all?"
"There are other places that offer sanctuary to young mutants, other schools, cities..." Hank suggested and waited for the rebuttal.
"What, like Genosha?" Logan growled out and hank nodded. "No freaking way. Who knows how safe they'd even be under Magneto's watch." He spit out.
"We might not have a choice. As of right now, Genosha is the only place in the world where mutants can't be hunted." Warren tried to reason.
"That doesn't mean we should risk those kids." Logan grumbled as he crossed his arms and turned away slightly.
"No one disagrees with you there, especially not me." Scott spoke up, surprising everyone. "I'd like nothing more than to blast Magneto into the ground for all he's tried to do to us, but we all know the Professor wouldn't want that, no matter how far he goes." Scott said and walked out of the war room, presumably to clear his head.
"We can only hope Moira will come through, so he doesn't have to experience any more grief." Hank sighed as he sat down at the table, rubbing his paw against his forehead tiredly.
"But is he going to be alright?" Piotr asked unsurely as he watched the former leader of the X-Men leave through the tunnels.
"It's gonna be tough, he's in a lot of pain right now." Betsy frowned as she sensed the deep sorrow coming from her friend. "It'll take time for him to heal."
"Yeah, but don't worry. He's a stubborn pain in the ass, but he's not a total wimp. He'll be back soon enough." Logan said confidently and everyone else looked at him in confusion.
"You sound pretty confident." Hank said simply and Logan rolled his eyes.
"Brilliant observation, fuzzball. For your information, I was just pointin' out the fact that his clothes are still down here." Logan pointed out and smirked. "And besides, there's no way he could stay away for long. He's too whipped by Ro's cooking." Logan said and everyone chuckled while Bobby just stood there in disbelief.
"Forget about him and food, what about us?" Bobby pointed out. He gestured around the room. "What happens to the x-men?" He said and everyone laid their head down in sadness again as they mourned their fallen friends.
"The world still needs the x men, whether we're grieving or not. Once word gets out that the school's closed, the mutant population will start getting nervous." Logan added, thinking somewhat calmly despite his mood.
Scott walked back in and spoke up again, having heard the last few sentences. "That I can tell you about, Bobby. The Professor made things clear that if something were to ever happen to him and/or me, then Storm would become the headmistress," Scott said, looking towards the bed where Ororo laid, sad as he saw the lines on her cheeks from her tears. The next part hurt even more, though. "And that leadership of the x-men would be transferred to…. Logan."
There was a completely dead silence as those words hit everyone's ears. Of all the things they'd already heard today, that was the most surprising. Logan… was listed as the successor to lead the x-men? It was almost inconceivable, and yet the professor had named him as such. The most surprised was Logan, who for once couldnt believe his ears.
"Wait, are my ears frozen over or did you just say that Logan's the new leader?" Bobby asked incredulously. Scott remained silent. "Scott, you're fucking with us, right man?"
"Yeah, I mean why would the professor pick Logan of all people to be the leader?" Betsy asked, being slightly harsh. Logan glared at her lightly for that. Warren winced and immediately tried to resolve things.
"Yeah, I mean no offense to you Logan," Warren said, looking at Logan, who waved it off as if saying 'forget about it.' Before turning his head back to Storm. "But we just don't think that Xavier would choose him."
"How about we ask the man in question what he thinks?" Hank suggested. Everyone's eyes turned to Logan, who stood tall despite the weight he now felt on his shoulders.
"I'm no leader, and I never have been." Logan said, not really knowing what else to say. "Simple as that."
"Zat's it?!" Kurt yelled out, wincing slightly. Kitty moved to help him, but Kurt raised a hand to stop her. "Vhat are we supposed to do?! The x-men are in shambles, we need a leader to get us through this. Scott's obviously going through shit right now, so he can't do it. We need you-"
"What do you want me to say?!" Logan roared out, his eyes flashing and claws extending on instinct. Kurt backed away at this, hell, he scared half the room. "That I'm just ready to suddenly become leader?! That I'm going to just pick up the pieces of the team?! News flash, Elf; I'm not ready, not even fucking close. We're all grieving for Chuck and Jeannie, so just back off the lectures." He finished and Kurt hung his head. Logan retracted his claws, rubbing his knuckles. Kurt sat back down. Logan sighed heavily, the events of the day wearing on him. "And while the world does need the x-men, the last thing it needs is me as the leader."
Everyone was surprised to hear Logan being so honest with them. Normally he'd only speak with them when he had to or on missions. Now he was being really… open. The fact that he felt like he didn't deserve to be leader also hit them hard and made them question some things they knew about the invulnerable Wolverine.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Bobby asked, lost and confused. Everyone just stayed where they were for a while, the only noise in the room being the breaths Ororo took in her sleep.
Logan was the first to move, standing up from beside Ororo. He walked out and no one made a move to stop him except for Hank.
"Where are you going?" The blue man asked and Logan paused mid-stride.
"Someone has to tell the kids school's out." Logan said tightly. Hank nodded and watched the usually scowling, irritable and proud man walk out and over to the elevator shaft, proceeding to climb his way out.
The rest of the x-men sighed as they watched their hurting friend leave the room, some still trying to come to grips with what's happened today.
X-X-X
The next morning...
Logan sighed as he revved up his motorcycle and winced at the noise, having been drinking through the night last night. He was clad in a spare pair of his clothes from yesterday and a brown leather jacket, ready to hit the road again. He pressed the button for the garage. As it opened he was surprised to see all of the x-men standing there, minus a certain pretty boy…
"You're not stopping me." He said pointedly, making his position clear.
"We're not. We all know it's pointless to try." Storm said, sighing. She and the others were still wearing their spare outfits from yesterday.
"Did you get in touch with Mactaggert?"
"Yeah, she's agreed to find places for the displaced kids. They'll all be shipping out in a few hours. It seems like this shall be a day for goodbyes." Storm said tiredly, the events of the previous day weighing on her.
"About that, what about keeping the x-men together?" Logan asked with just a little curiosity in his tone.
"Despite your blunt attempt at a farewell, we agreed with you that we need a break. We're going to take some time off, so to speak." Warren said lightly.
"So, you're all just here to see me off, then?" Logan said knowingly as he kicked the pedal up and got off his Harley.
"Who else would we be saying goodbye to?" Kitty asked incredulously, giving him a quick hug, which he returned. The action brought forth a sudden flash of jealousy from within Storm, who had found being in his arms quite comfortable yesterday. "The news came by after you left. Naturally, Beast ripped out their necks."
"You better watch that sense of humour, Kit, it's getting a little dark." Bobby said, feeling a little creeped out.
"And what's wrong with being dark, Mr. Drake?" Ororo asked him offendedly, effectively shutting Bobby up. The others chuckled at the look on Bobby's face, especially Logan. The woman was a very effective effectual speaker. It was one of her sexiest traits in his opinion. Ororo giggled at the utterly afraid look on the boy's face. "Relax Bobby, I'm just messing with you."
At this the teen let out a very large sigh of relief. "Phew! Thank god! Don't do that to me, Storm! It's not cool setting me up like that." Bobby sulked. Storm chuckled and shrugged. "I'm serious!"
"Just accept defeat knowing you were bested by a superior opponant." Logan said wisely and Bobby nodded sheepishly. "On that topic, where's pretty boy?" He asked, smirking. Some smiled softly at that, while others were frowning at the thought of their 'former' leader.
"Gone already. By the time we'd woken up he'd already left the goodbye note." Hank said, sad to see his old friend go without a goodbye, and now having to say goodbye to another one. Logan nodded in understanding. He then turned his attention to the two that were in the worst condition yesterday.
"Now that I'm getting a good look, I can see you're looking better, 'Ro." Logan said. "You too Elf."
"Thanks, though I can't say I can pull off ze mummy look.." Kurt said, joking about the amount of bandages on his body. "Sorry about my outburst yesterday."
Logan waved him off. "Ah, Don't worry about it. Shit happens in the heat of the moment. I'd be a fucking hypocrite to hold it against ya."
"Still, I feel like an asshole for trying to lecture you into becoming ze leader." Kurt said apologetically.
"Yeah, Hurt Kurt strikes again." Peter laughed, and Kitty joined in.
"Hurt Kurt? Looks like you got yourself a new nickname, elf." Logan teased, the tension already forgotten. Kurt sighed. If Logan was teasing him, then all hope really was lost. "Don't worry, you'll alway be elf to me."
"Thank you, though even though vere all going our separate ways, I don't think my newest nickname will be leaving anytime soon." Kurt said disheartedly.
"Yes, it's quickly becoming a favorite of theirs." Storm said, smiling amusedly.
"Yeah, well you can call me when the next one happens." Logan said and found himself thinking he was going to miss this family of misfits.
"Where are you going, anyway?" Bobby asked, curious as to where the 'older' man was going off to.
"Charles left me some leads to investigate 2 days ago. Thought I'd check 'em out; see if I find anything." Logan explained. His eyes then grew a little sad. "Maybe find some clues as to what happened on the way."
Hank nodded, accepting his answer. "Sounds good. Will we see you back after that?"
Logan smiled sadly and shook his head no. "Not for a while. I need some time to sort things out, do my own thing for a while." Logan said a little distantly. Everyone knew why, but only Scott knew the whole truth, and he was already gone. "I suggest you all do the same."
"That would probably be best, at least for now." Betsy added, though a little sadly. Her face then grew serious. "Just don't forget you owe me and Ororo a drink."
"I won't, so don't get your leotard in a bunch." Logan said and Betsy gave him a friendly smile for once. He then turned to the kids. "How 'bout the rest of ya?"
"I guess my parent's house. My mom's been bugging me a lot about visiting home a lot lately." Bobby said a little boredly then his face fell in realization. "Aw man! Knowing them they'll probably keep me under house arrest for the next year!"
"I've been meaning to go back to Russia, see my family." Peter said offhandedly.
"I've been meaning to visit home too. I owe my mom some serious hang time. After that, I guess public high school." Kitty said, sending a sympathetic look Bobby's way. His parents were far less accepting of his mutants powers than hers were.
"What about you guys?" Logan said, turning to the more adult members of the X-Men.
"I'll think of something." Warren shrugged.
"I might as well do some traveling, that's not actually work related for once." Betsy said, getting interested in the idea.
"Someone should remain here just in case anyone comes looking. Besides, it's not like I have anywhere else to go." Hank said.
"Damn, Hank, we need to find you a girlfriend, or at least let me introduce you to someone. There's plenty of pretty women out there, you know." Logan
"And what women are those?" Kitty said dangerously. Ororo looked interested in how he was going to get himself out of this. She wasn't a fool, she knew Logan had many partners during his years. Despite that, it didn't really bother her. He was a good man, but he had needs same as anyone else. She couldn't fault him for that. Kitty on the other hand, well she was still young despite having better maturity than most her age.
"Ones that were either too hot or too cold, in other words perfect for Hank." Logan said and the the teen giggled, letting him off the hook. Ororo smiled, both at the joke and the way he handled that.
"That's good and all, but, what's the world gonna do, without the x-men I mean?" Warren asked.
"Yeah, I mean it would kind of help for there to actually be x-men around if some big evil guy came around blowing stuff up." Kitty said and everyone laughed a little, while Logan thought of something.
"Then how about if something big happens, like Magneto or Sinister show up starting shit again, we get back together and deal with it like only we do? Sound good?" Logan suggested. Everyone exchanged looks and nodded. "Good, conversation over."
The other x-men looked at each other. "Sounds like a good idea, it's just going to stress us all out if we keep thinking about it." Bobby said, happy with the answer.
"Hmm, well in the meantime, how about you keep this with you?" Hank said and handed him a brown satchel. Logan looked confused before he opened the bag and smiled as he saw his x-men uniform, clean and pressed nicely. On top of it was his account access card. "Just in case you ever get into too much trouble."
"Thanks Hank." Logan said and offered a handshake, which Hank wholeheartedly accepted.
Ororo gave him a hug instead, which Logan accepted. "We'll meet again." She whispered in his ear and kissed his cheek. Kitty fumed slightly at the gesture but didn't want to appear too obviously jealous, though it was already too late; everyone had already noticed. Well, all except Bobby, who was as oblivious as usual.
Logan said goodbye individually to the rest of them, mostly giving handshakes and a friendly punch to Bobby's shoulder, which caused the younger man to wince and rub his shoulder.
"That's for yesterday, ya punk." Logan smiled and patted the ice-maker's shoulder. "Take care of yourself, kid." He walked back to his bike.
Bobby blinked as that sort of 'man moment' happened. 'I will never understand Wolverine.' He thought to himself.
"Are you sure we cannot change your mind?" Ororo asked him, begging a little. Despite the almost heart melting pleading, Logan shook his head slowly.
"I'm not fit to lead, and even if I was I'm still not ready. Maybe if that day comes.." Logan said. Ororo nodded in understanding.
"Don't put yourself down too much, you're more of a leader than you know." Ororo said, putting her hand on his arm gently. Logan was slightly confused by that statement but nodded anyway.
Logan hopped back onto his bike and put his helmet on. "See you later." Kitty said, walking up to his bike. Logan nodded and gave her a hug and a discreet kiss on the cheek, making the younger girl blush. Logan chuckled a little and he kicked the pedal. The others parted a way for him. Logan nodded and rode off down the driveway. Once he reached the end, he looked back and saw his family waving at him. He gave a warm wave back before lifting his slim legs and setting off on the open road. The remaining x-men stood there in the driveway.
"I don't know about all of you…" Bobby said and everyone turned to him, thinking that he had something profound to say, but that idea was shattered as soon as they heard a loud growl coming from a certain ice mutant's stomach. "But I'm starving. I'm so hungry I could eat Angel."
Everyone sighed, but had playful smiles on their faces. "I wouldn't recommend it; Pigeon doesn't taste good cold." Betsy joked, playing along.
"I don't recommend the wings, the bones will get stuck in your teeth." Warren quipped and everyone laughed as they each left to a vehicle to go to a restaurant. All except for Ororo and Kitty, who were watching the sun rise over what was left of the gate.
"You remember our promise we made, right Storm?" Kitty asked her.
Ororo nodded slightly, a serious look now gracing her face. "Of course, it wasn't that long ago, and frankly it was the hardest decision I ever made." She said as she watched the driveway.
"You think he'll find Rogue?"
"Not if she does not want to be found." Storm shut down that idea.
"Fair enough. She always was the best at stealth missions, second only to Kurt." Kitty said, smiling fondly. "I'm just mad that we didn't get a chance to talk to him about it."
"It wasn't the right time. We've just lost Jean and the professor. He's as much a wreck as any of us, maybe more." Storm said. Kitty chuckled as a thought came to her.
"You know, it's weird." Kitty said. "I know that they're gone, it just feels like they're still here, maybe not here, but somewhere." She said, trying to find the words.
"I believe I've heard of this condition before. I think it's called hope." Storm said playfully, though what Kitty said got her thinking; she'd been feeling a strange presence in the atmosphere, something she couldn't quite explain. "Do you think he would've agreed to it?"
Kitty shrugged. "Well, whatever it is, I kinda like it." Ororo nodded and hummed thoughtfully. "And, yeah; if we could've gotten Jean in on it, probably." Both drifted into silence again.
"He'll...be back right? Ororo said, uncertainly. Kitty just stared back at her with a confident expression.
"Oh, yeah."
X-X-X
In the distant sky, a shadow of a large bird spotted a motorcycle below in curiosity, watching it for a few moments before flying after it, making sure to keep out of the rider's vision. For a long while, the bird just watched it's target, studying it. After a while, the bird's exterior faded a little to expose a woman amidst its body.
In the midst of the bird, two blank emerald eyes lit up slightly at the figure on the bike.
"Logan…" the person within the bird said as the green eyes brightened in recognition...
Chapter 4's done. Seriously I would appreciate some reviews for this or other chapters. I'm honestly really excited about this story. I have some OP oc's that I can't wait to start introducing.
Honestly, I think that I will do a part five of the prologue now. I'm not sure yet. I guess you'll know soon enough.
And yeah, who expected Jean to be there at the end? I wouldn't.
Well, one of them, anyway.
There will be some crazy stuff going on past this point. Fair warning. Some of it you may recognize, but some stuff will throw you for a loop.
I will be doing a fic of all one shots in tandem with this. They will range from various situations between heroes and some cartoon characters. Warning some may be dark.
Heroverse out.