Chapter 16

Storm was just leaving the lab to see if Rogue was awake, when she saw Raven striding purposefully toward her. Raven's expression was dark, almost angry, and it sent a shock of worry through Storm's slender body.

"What's wrong?" She asked Raven as she finally met her, halfway down the long corridor.

"We missed it, Storm. It wasn't obvious, but I should've known…"

"Missed what?"

Raven heaved in a breath, collecting her jumbled thoughts, before she replied, "It's Sonya. She's the key to this."

Storm was clearly confused. "How? Raven, I don't understand."

"Well, it wasn't her fault, actually. But I was remembering how Logan had taken care of her when she fell ill, how close he was to her. And later, when she seemed to be better, Bobby had watched her for a while. Those two were the most affected."

Finally understanding where Raven was going, Storm said, "Sonya had a high fever. I thought it was just her abilities emerging."

Raven nodded. "It was, to a certain extent. I think the onset of her powers was the trigger to release some sort of virus – one that affects the adrenal glands, elevating their hormones until they overwhelm the rational thought processes –"

"– So whoever is affected becomes both irrational and violent," Storm interjected. "But why? And who put it there?"

Raven shrugged. "I'm not sure on the 'why', but I can guess who – the Brotherhood."

"Of course," Storm sighed, shaking her head. "So, what do we do?"

"Right now, nothing," she raised her hand to keep Storm from replying. "We need to take care of the children first, as usual. We'll discuss a plan when they're in class. Can you find someone to fill in for you?"

Storm nodded.

"Okay. Where were you going, anyway?"

"to see if Rogue wanted to see Bobby. He's been asking for her since he woke up, early this morning."

Raven smiled at Storm's exasperation, and offered, "You go ahead and get her, and I'll go keep him company."

"Thank you, Raven."

Raven simply nodded and walked toward the lab, as Storm headed for the elevator. When she entered the room, Bobby glanced over to see who it was.

"Where's Rogue?" he asked impatiently. Raven grinned; she knew how he felt. When she reached his bedside, she hooked the nearby folding chair with her foot and dragged it closer, then sat down on it.

"Storm's going to find her right now. It'll be a few minutes."

Bobby seemed as if he wanted to say something, but then he turned his head toward the wall. Perceptively, Raven stated, "You remember something."

Still turned away, he nodded. Raven carefully placed her hand on his, inwardly angry at whoever had masterminded this whole thing. If there was one Universal rule, it was that you didn't mess with kids. Or, at least, it should be.

"Bobby," she said to him, "it's not your fault."

He turned back to stare at her, his eyes blazing. "Like hell, it isn't! I would've killed her if she hadn't run away. I was so angry at her."

"Maybe. But it wasn't you controlling your thoughts. We think it was a virus running through you. It's why you had a fever. Your body was trying to fight it off."

He seemed to accept that, because his face relaxed somewhat, and he heaved in a sigh.

"I was worried that Rogue wouldn't want to see me."

Raven nodded. "She does. She loves you, Bobby. Nothing could change that."

Bobby smiled, raising his hands in a 'what're ya gonna do' gesture.

"So, how do you feel?" she asked him.

"Like I was in a cage match with Logan." When he saw her expression, he eyed her suspiciously. "Oh, no. What happened?"

Raven chuckled. "You were in a cage match with Logan, sort of. Actually, it was more of a sauna match."

"Is he the one who dislocated my shoulder?"

"No. But he did break your kneecap."

Bobby nodded at that. "Well, thank him for that, will ya?"

"Well, in his defense, you were kinda out of control. He didn't want to hurt you."

"I know," Bobby said quietly.

Raven heard someone coming down the hall then, and she stood up and patted his good shoulder, bringing a small smile to his face.

"I think Rogue and Storm are coming. I need to go anyway."

She turned to leave, but he took hold of her hand, so she turned back to him questioningly.

"Thanks, Raven."

"You're welcome," she replied, just as Rogue entered the room, closely followed by Storm. Bobby released her hand, and she smiled at Rogue, who returned the smile as she walked past her. When Raven reached Storm, she motioned for them to step into the hall.

"I'm going to find Logan, to fill him in on everything," Raven said when they were out of hearing.

"All right. We can meet in my office at ten, if that's okay?"

Raven nodded. "Sure. We'll be there."

"Good."

"Keep an eye on those two, okay?" Raven said as she walked away.

"I will," Storm called after her.

Raven found Logan in the stables, where he and Sonya were petting the horses and talking. She watched them silently, smiling at the soft expression in Logan's normally calculating eyes, at the way he gently stroked the nose of the black mare they stood before. It was funny to her that the same animals that normally feared predators were soothed by Logan, even nosing him for a hidden treat.

Sonya noticed Raven first, and said, "Wanna pet her? Her name's Queen."

Raven stepped over to the stall, giving Sonya a smile. The girl moved aside to make room for Raven to stand between her and Logan. Raven reached out her hand to touch the mare, and was surprised when the horse gently pressed her nose into her palm first. It was even softer than she'd imagined, like the finest velvet, and the mare's warm breath that caressed Raven's skin felt like a gentle summer wind.

"Hello, Queen," Raven breathed, gazing into the mare's expressive chocolate eyes.

"How's Bobby?" Logan asked then, and she turned to look at him.

"Awake, and upset at himself for what happened." Then, she smiled and added, "He says to thank you for the knee."

Logan's jaw clenched as he remembered the events in the sauna. He really hadn't wanted to hurt the boy, but he did want to incapacitate him. Breaking his knee had seemed like the only option at the time.

Knowing what Logan was thinking, Raven placed her hand on his arm.

"He'll be okay, Logan."

"I hope so," he replied as he turned back to Queen and ran his fingers through her silken mane, his thoughts still in turmoil.

Sonya had been watching them talk, and felt ever more uncomfortable being there, as if she were an intruder. She could tell that Logan cared very much for Raven – even a normal human could see that – but she knew him well enough to know that he could shut away his feelings in a moment. From all outward appearances, Raven seemed to feel the same for him, but Sonya couldn't get any sort of mental reading from her. Either Raven had discovered a way to block telepathy from affecting her, or…well, to be honest, Sonya couldn't think of another option.

"Um," she finally said aloud, "I should go."

It was Raven who objected, which surprised Sonya. "Please stay, Sonya. I'm the one who interrupted you two."

Sonya looked to Logan, to gauge his expression, but he kept his faced neutral. She kicked at the sawdust floor, unsure of what to do.

"I just figured you wanted to talk alone," she murmured.

Raven gazed around the stable, trying to find the right words to explain. "Actually, what I need to say involves you, so you should be here."

Her statement startled Logan, and he didn't bother to hide his reaction. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he asked, "What do you mean? What's goin' on?"

Raven took a deep breath. She was never very good at explaining things, so she had to think very carefully before she began to speak.

"Well, you remember when I first came here…"

"You mean when you broke in?" He growled quietly.

"Fine. Broke in," she said with a nod. "I was looking for something to tell my why the Brotherhood wanted Sonya."

"Raven," he warned her, and she realized that she was starting to ramble, so she got to the point.

"I think they genetically engineered Sonya, using female human DNA and mixing it with mutant male DNA. And I think they also engineered a virus in her, one that would activate when her abilities emerged. The only think I don't understand, is why they did it. What their ultimate purpose was for the virus, I mean."

Sonya looked at each of them, suddenly feeling fearful. "So what's happening is my fault? I made Bobby sick?"

Logan went over to her and knelt down in front of her, taking hold of her arms. Though his voice was stern, his eyes were full of compassion.

"No, Sonya. It isn't your fault. The Brotherhood did this, not you."

"But –" she began, but he gripped her tighter and cut her off.

"Sonya, stop. We're gonna find a way to fix it. But you're gonna need to help us, and to do that, you need to be strong and calm. Can you do that?"

Sonya's eyes found Raven, whose gaze was hopeful, and then shifted back to Logan. His expression almost mirrored Raven's, and it brought tears to Sonya's eyes.

"Yes," she replied with a nod.

"Okay." He hesitated for a moment, then pulled her into a hug, his huge arms completely enveloping her slender body. She wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing in the scent of his cologne mixed with the sweet smell of the hay in the stable. It was a mixture that made her feel comforted, warm; it reminded her of her childhood somehow, though no specific memory surfaced.

When she finally pulled away from him, she stood up straight and brushed a stray piece of hay from her shirt. Logan gave her a bright smile and also stood.

Raven checked her watch, then said, "We're supposed to meet Storm in her office in five minutes. We should probably go." She looked at Sonya. "You should come, too."

"Okay," the girl replied. She gave Queen a final pat, and then led the way down the aisle between the stalls. Raven trailed behind Logan, her mind stuck on a single thought; she couldn't figure out what the Brotherhood was up to, but Pyro had said that her mind held the answer.

She just hoped they could discover that answer soon.

Her gut was telling her that something much worse was about to occur.

XXXXX

Storm was pacing around her office when Logan, Raven, and Sonya entered the room, each of them wearing a different expression. Logan's gaze was one of quiet anger, like a dormant volcano. He would keep his control for now, but when the time came, there would be an explosion rivaling the Apocalypse. Raven seemed to be shifting between unease and frustration, as if she couldn't understand what was happening and felt helpless to stop it.

When Storm looked at Sonya, she felt like bursting out into tears. The girl's face was full of guilt, yet her eyes held out a shred of hope. Suddenly, Storm had an urgent need to find out what they all knew.

Storm sat behind her desk and beckoned for them to sit as well. Raven and Sonya both found chairs to sit on, but Logan took his usual spot, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. She couldn't keep a small grin from stealing onto her lips. Logan was most definitely a creature of habit.

When they were all comfortable, Storm began the meeting.

"What do we know?" she asked, looking first to Logan. As much as neither of them wanted to admit it, he was the unofficial leader of the X-Men now that Scott was gone. Storm was in charge of the school, but she was more than glad to let Logan lead in everything else. He was more than capable, she was sure of that.

"Well," he replied, shooting a quick glance at Raven, "we know that the Brotherhood were after Sonya. We know that only those who came in close contact with her were suddenly affected by this virus, or whatever it is. And we know that it makes them violent."

"What we aren't sure of," Raven interjected, "is what their ultimate goal was in creating the virus. Or why they wanted Sonya."

"But you have a theory?" Storm asked, to which Raven nodded.

"We think they 'made' Sonya, and implanted the virus. They wanted to get her back to either further their experiment, or…"

Logan pushed off of the wall and turned to look at Raven. "Or what?"

Raven stared straight at him and replied, "Or to end the experiment altogether."

"You mean, they wanna kill her?" he growled.

"Possibly." She turned her gaze to Sonya, who was now trembling in her seat. Raven placed her hand over Sonya's hoping it would reassure her, but she still shook.

"What are our options, then?" Storm asked, again looking to Logan.

He sighed and rubbed a hand through his thick, brown hair. "We read Raven's mind, try to see if she knows what their plans are."

Storm was confused. "But how? Only the Professor and Jean could…"

"I can do it," Sonya interrupted. "I found out by accident a few days ago."

"Is it safe?"

Sonya shrugged.

"The only other way is to find the Brotherhood," Logan stated. "Somehow, I doubt they'll be too willing to talk."

Storm sighed. Things were definitely not going the way she'd hoped. What did you really expect? She asked herself. Nothing is ever easy when the Brotherhood is involved. After a few moments, she nodded slowly.

"All right. Do whatever you need to, but be careful."

Logan nodded in return before turning to Sonya and asking, "You sure about this? You might not like what you see."

Sonya surprised him by chuckling softly. "After looking into your mind, I don't think Raven's thoughts will bother me too much."

He shot her a troubled look, but her smile didn't fade. Finally, he threw up his hands in surrender.

"Okay. Let's get this nightmare over with."

They decided to go to Logan's room, since they wouldn't be interrupted there. Sonya directed Raven to lie down on Logan's bed, and to try to fall asleep. It would be easier to access Raven's subconscious when she was dreaming, Sonya explained.

Logan stood leaning against the door frame, willing himself to keep still so he wouldn't disturb them. This whole idea still didn't sit well with him, but it seemed to be the only way to gather the needed information.

As Raven lay there, she doubted whether she could actually fall asleep, since she didn't feel very tired. She had to try, however, so she made herself relax, breathing deeply and letting her mind go blank. To her surprise, she soon felt herself drifting off, and let herself be overtaken by the sensation.

When Raven was fully asleep, Sonya perched on the edge of the bed and also closed her eyes. In a quiet voice, she addressed Logan.

"If anything bad happens, you need to wake me up first. Waking Raven before me could harm her."

"But won't waking you harm you?" he asked.

She shook her head so slowly he hardly noticed.

"The connection is being made form my end. It has to be broken from my end, too."

Again he felt like stopping the procedure, but his need to know overrode his better judgment.

"Okay," he murmured, and shifted his weight to his other leg.

Sonya relaxed her body, and her mind slowly followed suit. Soon, she had the feeling that her surroundings had changed, that she was no longer in Logan's attic bedroom. She opened her eyes and found herself in some sort of laboratory, filled with strange equipment. Computers lined a far wall, their screens casting a blue glow all over the room. The door opened, and two men walked inside, one of them dressed in a white coat. The other man held a clipboard in his hands and seemed slightly nervous about something. Neither of them appeared to notice her standing there, but she dared not move anyway, just in case.

"I'm still not sure about this," the nervous man said. "we haven't tested it enough."

"We're out of time," the one in the lab coat replied impatiently. "She is almost fully grown. Get the virus and bring it down to Incubation."

With a resigned sigh, Clipboard Man nodded. "Right away, Doctor."

The doctor stalked out of the room, leaving the other man alone. He set the clipboard down on a counter, and started walking right toward Sonya. Panicked, she stood frozen to the floor, sure he would catch her there, but he continued past her, unaware of her presence. He reached a stainless steel cabinet behind her, and she watched as he pulled open a drawer and a light mist escaped the cabinet. It wasn't a cabinet after all, Sonya realized; it was a refrigeration unit.

The man picked up a few of the vials inside, reading the labels and then putting them back. Finally, he found the one he was looking for, and slipped it into his shirt pocket. He slid the drawer closed and stood up, then walked back toward the door to the lab, grabbing his clipboard on the way out.

Sonya knew she should follow him, so she counted to three, gathering her courage, and then pushed through the door he'd gone through. He was already a good distance down the hall, whistling a tune off-key. She followed a few paced behind him, trying to catch glimpses of what was behind the doors on either side of the corridor.

The man suddenly stopped in front of a door on the left, and she had to skid to a stop before she slammed into him. He slid a card into a slot on the door, waited for a click, then withdrew the card and pushed the handle down. The door swung in, and he entered the room beyond it. Sonya rushed ahead, knowing that if she didn't get inside soon, the door would lock again, with her outside. She slipped around the door with just inches to spare, and noticed the man she'd followed standing by a sort of hospital bed. There was someone on the bed; a red-haired pregnant someone, Sonya realized when she saw the large belly sticking out under the sheet. Sonya thought at first that the woman was dead, since her eyes were closed and she lay so still. But then, her arm moved from the surface of the bed to gently rub her belly.

The doctor she'd seen earlier was there also, and now Clipboard Man handed him the vial he'd put in his pocket. As he placed it in the doctor's hand, he once again relayed his concern.

"We really should test it first. Otherwise, how'll we be sure it'll work?"

The doctor frowned. "It will work. It must. Each of them must die, so we can be the strongest mutants on Earth."

The man relented at last, walking away to speak with another doctor. Sonya watched the first doctor push a very long needle into the vial's stopper, then draw some of the fluid into the syringe. When he was satisfied at the amount he'd taken, he removed the needle and set the vial on a tray beside the bed. He pulled aside the sheet that draped over the woman, exposing her bare stomach. The baby inside moved, making a small lump toward the right side, then disappeared again. Sonya's stomach turned as she understood what was about to happen. She didn't want to watch, but she had to; she was inside Raven's mind, simply being carried along in the tide of Raven's thoughts. Raven had watched, therefore, Sonya had to as well.

The doctor carefully rubbed iodine on the woman's belly, then guided the needle into her skin. The woman's eyes fluttered, but she didn't make any other move. When the needle had reached a certain point, the doctor released the fluid, waited a moment, and then slowly removed the needle. He watched the woman for a few moments, waiting for any signs of a reaction, and then set down the syringe. He turned to another man and ordered, "Take her down to Delivery. It won't be long now."

"Yes, Doctor," the man replied, and began to wheel the woman's bed toward the door Sonya had come through. A woman held the door open for him, nodded at him when he thanked her.

"Seen enough yet?" A voice asked at her right side. Sonya turned to see Raven standing there, her gaze seeming to search Sonya's face for something.

"That wasn't my mother. That woman's hair –" Sonya shook her head, confused.

Raven seemed surprised, but merely stated, "The woman you grew up with wasn't your real mother. Your birth mother – the one you saw here – died bringing you into this world." She gestured around the room to explain her bitter tone.

"But then, what about my father?" Sonya asked.

"That, I don't know." She looked around the room, and pointed toward someone seated at a computer. "But he does."

Sonya followed her gaze, until she saw who she'd pointed out. She sighed heavily.

"Clipboard Man."

"What?" Raven asked, but Sonya shook her head. "The papers he has with him should tell you who your father is."

With a last glance at Raven, Sonya stepped toward the man. His clipboard was on the desk beside the computer, and he was intently staring at the monitor, occasionally pressing a button on the keyboard. Sonya looked down at the paper, reading the entire page once. Then, her eyes flicked back to the section labeled "Biological Father:". When she read the name that had been typed inside the box, Sonya felt her stomach drop down to her feet. She wanted to scream, but her throat wouldn't make a sound.

"Sonya!" She heard Logan's voice call to her, and she suddenly found herself back in his room, staring into his eyes. She looked down at Raven and was relieved to see that she was still asleep.

"Are you all right?" He asked. "What happened?"

She suddenly jumped up and took a step back, toward the door. "You can wake her up now. I've gotta go!"

Before he could move to stop her, Sonya sprinted out of the room, and down the stairs. Puzzled, Logan turned toward Raven and shook her gently. Her eyes opened, and when she remembered where she was, she sat up quickly.

"What happened?" Raven asked, glancing around for Sonya. "Where'd she go?"

"She ran outta here like a bat outta hell. Something scared her." He stood up and began to pace back and forth. "I knew this was a bad idea."

Raven jumped out of bed and started for the door, as he stared questioningly at her. She came back and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the stairs.

"Com on, Logan," she scolded, "we gotta find her."