DISCLAIMER:
As you should know, I do not own the X-Men. They are the sole property of Marvel Comics Group. However, I do claim assorted OC's and will generally share if asked politely.

Lost, Then Found
by Dizi

Chapter 3

"Alright, I believe ya don't see Melody," Logan conceded. Part of the reason he had resisted all the hoops Charles had asked him to go through was some niggling suspicions that the man had overlooked something. The display upstairs a short time before had dispelled them. "So why me? And what do we do now?"

"Don't look at me," Emma said in disgust. "I have no idea."

"I think," Charles mused aloud, grateful the only thoughts he was privy to were his own, "we should look to outside assistance."

"But help from where?" Emma sighed. "It's like she's a ghost."

Charles gazed at her steadily.

"Ya wanna call in Strange, huh?" Logan was unsurprised.

"Oh, you can not be serious!" Sitting up straighter, Emma uncrossed her legs. "I was joking. There is no such thing as ghosts!"

"As the bard said, 'There is more under the sun than Heaven and Earth, Horatio.'" Charles quoted softly. "I have found truth in those words."

"We know vampires are real." Logan shrugged. "Why not ghosts? I'm game."

"I know about the X-Men's past experience in that sphere," she admitted, "but I still have reservations."

"Stick around fer the Doc, then. He'll make ya a believer," Logan said dryly, amused someone who had seen what she had didn't believe in what she couldn't see, especially since as a telepath her own powers were used unseen. But Dr. Strange had made believers out of people much more skeptical than Frost.

"I might just do that, if only to see that she is not a ghost." Emma didn't give an inch.

Charles nodded. "And I will place the call."

There was no end of the people who wanted to witness Dr. Stephen Strange's visit. Emma was the only one who was skeptical though, the others were mainly curious. However, only a few could be allowed to observe. Scott, Ororo, and Kurt were the chosen because they asked first. Jean wanted to be there but Stephen refused on the grounds of the possible endangerment of her unborn child's soul.

After some quick pleasantries, Dr. Strange was shown to the Danger Room - it being the most secure place in the building - and he was all business.

Raising his hands in the air, he gestured to Logan, saying a spell in a somewhat loud voice. Though they listened carefully, the observers in the control booth could not quite catch his exact words. Kurt thought it was best they hadn't.

A blue and gold nimbus surrounded Logan. He rose several inches off the floor. In a far corner, a similar glow was seen.

Melody, thin and translucent, faded into view. For the first time, she was visible to everyone. A silent scream was coming from her mouth stretched impossibly wide.

"Yer hurtin' her," Logan growled, struggling.

But Stephen Strange was already canceling his spell. The light disappeared abruptly. Melody vanished and Logan crashed to the floor.

"That was... different," Emma said to the room in general, sipping a glass of brandy.

They had moved to the War-Room and all were now trying to relax, many with alcoholic beverages. No matter that most had expected to see something, they were disturbed.

"Indeed, I would say that was an understatement," Ororo agreed.

Charles was eager for answers. "What can you tell us, Stephen?"

"It is obvious a spirit has attached itself to Logan." Dr. Strange's hands were steepled in front of his face and his eyes were closed. "In my opinion, she is not dangerous."

"How do I get rid of her?" Logan asked. "There's places I go an' things I do no little 'un should be exposed ta, dead or not."

"There are some spells that would... make her go away, but I don't think they would be best here." Stephen opened his eyes. "You must understand, I am the guardian of the gate, so to speak. I fight the evil that would invade our world. My spells would not help her to move on. The spirit of the child would be obliterated. From your reaction, I don't think you would like that outcome."

From Logan's growl, it was clear he didn't think so either.

"Do you have any advice?" Scott asked. His own experiences with the supernatural were limited and he was having trouble reconciling what he had seen.

"Not exactly." Stephen hesitated. "But there may be someone I can refer the problem to."

"An associate of yours?" Charles asked, willing to accept any help. "How do we contact him?"

"Her, and you don't. If she is willing to offer her assistance, Morgan will contact you."

Before taking his leave, Dr. Strange promised to pass a message on to his 'colleague', though he said that term was not exactly correct. When a phone was offered, he looked amused. Chuckling, he stated beings involved in the Arts did not use a phone to contact each other.

Frustrated, Logan returned to the Danger Room. He spent a good two hours there mindlessly fighting holographic enemies, but it didn't really help. It wasn't that he wanted Melody gone, he didn't even like the idea she was dead. If she needed to 'move on', that was what he wanted for her. Knowing some little girl he had never even met had 'attached' herself to him instead of going to the afterlife was a concept he couldn't understand.

'Why him?' was the question he asked himself the most. Before he had left, Logan had pulled Strange aside and asked him, but it was something he said he couldn't know.

That night, Logan did not sleep well. It wasn't really that unusual as he often had dreams or nightmares of his fragmented past. Nothing new, those fragments intruded on his peace enough so he was used to them. The normal broken images were not what woke him over and over again this time.

He kept seeing Melody. In his dreams, she would beg him to help her but he didn't know how. Her sadness when he said it while still in the dream overwhelmed him.

At some point during the night, he lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Minutes or hours may have passed. Eventually he said aloud, "I'll do my best, sweetheart. That's all I can promise."

And he was able to sleep peacefully.

to be continued.

note: I know, I know, the same questions are still there. Mostly. And now we have even more questions about Dr. Strange's "colleague". Don'cha love it? Can you tell I'm very happy with this one? More to come Wednesday!

Thanks for reading and the support,
Dizi