Memories
Gone
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Emma, Scott and Kitty sat slumped in the War Room.
"How bad is it Em?"
"Scott, she's gone to stage three, wearing Logan's clothes. She's still looking after the children but any other activities she's shunning."
"Why did Logan have to go MIA right now? Tora's off duty so we've lost one of our ferals and an energy-based being as well as a senior member of the team and our espionage expert in one fell swoop. We need Tora because she's got the know-how to keep us safe and even when she's on mission control and keeping us all linked, we're not at our best because a vital part of the team dynamic has gone. And we need Logan for…well, for Logan work. Damn. We're two men down and they're possibly our best fighters."
"Scott, Logan contacted me saying he saw the kidnapper and then…nothing. It's been three weeks. Tora's having difficulties, as much as she tries to hide it. Eloise saw her slumped at her desk asleep."
Scott sighed and then allowed himself to slump in the chair. Things were getting to crisis level. Then Kurt bamfed onto the table.
"Scott, SHIELD's found Logan."
Scott pulled himself upright.
"Right, get Tora here now."
"What stage is she at?"
"She passed stage one, the sitting-moping-when-she-thought-we-weren't-looking two weeks into his disappearance. Stage two-"
"The talking-to-Logan-even-though-he-wasn't-there stage?"
"Yes, and we hoped it would stop there. According to Emma, she's in mild stage three, wearing his shirt."
"I heard her talking to his hat."
Scott swore.
"Hat stage? Damn, that's major stage three. Have we ever had a stage four?"
"No. I really don't want to see what happened."
Kurt gulped.
"I'll go now."
He bamfed away and Scott leant back.
"When did we decide to use Tora as a barometer for Logan's absences?"
Kitty laughed.
"Well, I think Jubes was responsible. You know, she'd come back from Gen X, take one look at Tora and guess how long Logan had been gone for."
"Well it's our saving grace. We know he's been gone too long."
Suddenly Tora entered and Scott knew instantly that something was wrong. Her face was white.
"Logan's in danger. He's…hurts…I know it sounds stupid, but I just know when he's in danger."
"Tora, SHIELD just picked him up. He's injured but they're sure he's on the mend."
She shook her head.
"I want to speak to Fury, now."
Scott frowned but shrugged and linked them through to the SHIELD Helicarrier bridge. Tora moved in front of the screen.
"Nick?"
"Dragon! Dragon! Get me to Cyclops now! Cyclops, Wolverine's gone wild! He's killing everyone in his way! Babbling about the Hand and HYDRA! HOW DO YOU STOP HIM?"
Tora pulled the screen towards her.
"That's my husband Nick and you will tell me everything you know."
There was an authority in her voice, something that Scott swore had more than a trace of Etana in it, a little bit of one of the few people able to make Director Fury listen.
"Fine. We found him in a coma in Minneapolis. We brought him here, started to treat him and he went crazy and killed-"
The screen went black. Emma was prepared and grabbed Tora when she lunged, diamond form struggling to hold the angry woman.
"Tora, we need you here and now to help us get Logan back to normal."
Gold and silver eyes met hers and Emma almost, almost let go. But she'd faced down Phoenix and in her opinion, Dragon was nowhere near as powerful. A deception carefully cultivated over the millennia by Dragon. The silver gleam from the whites of Tora's eyes didn't make Emma any more afraid than the little dragon roaring in her pupils. And in later years, Emma wondered what delusion had made her feel that Tora was a less of a threat than Jean. Why had Phoenix always been considered the more dangerous of the two? And then it had clicked. Phoenix left survivors. Dragon didn't even leave desolation behind. And with Tora, a human with the natural ability to destroy a pretty large chunk of the world if she so desired, Dragon was unstoppable. But that was in the future and in a tattered world. Right now, Emma saw Dragon as a powerful being, maybe on par with Dr Strange, but nowhere near the Phoenix in terms of power or strength. Tora snarled.
"Let me go Emma, or so help me…"
"Tora, calm down."
"If that was Scott, Emma, would you be calm? If that was the father of your children? I've already lost one son. I'm not losing my husband as well."
Emma froze. Logan survived. It was who, what he was. He'd been in danger before but Tora had never reached this level of irrationality. Scott caught her arm.
"Tora, there's nothing you can do."
She whipped round, throwing them both off.
"I can fix anything. I am Dragon."
And she charged out, to smash straight into Xixy who caught her arms.
"Ma'am, I must ask you not to leave. We have been given a message from the Avengers. All hero bases must be made secure. No entry or exit."
"Dammit Xixy. That's my husband!"
The alien had trouble holding her steady. Out of all the X-Men, he alone knew the true potential of Tora gone mad. So he did the only thing he could and enveloped her in his goo, preventing her from moving. Scott stepped out.
"Thanks Xixy. I really hope you have gods other than Dragon. I think we're all going to have to pray."
"Why Cyclops?"
"Because Logan's gone over."
Phoenix winced.
"Logan really was a terrifying enemy."
"Tell me about it."
"Did you ever hear about the time he got resurrected as 'a supply of souls when there is no war'?"
"No. Do tell."
She wanted to cry, wanted to scream as Nick told the grouped heroes to be on their guard, to not let their trust in a man they all knew make them unwary. She wanted to shout out 'IT'S STILL LOGAN! IT'S STILL THE MAN I LOVE!' but she knew the looks she would get. She was getting them anyway, pitying glances from people who knew who she was and what she had lost. And she hated it. Nick should let her go. She could reason with him, make him trust her. But Nick had shaken his head.
"We've already lost one of the best fighters. They get their hands on you, we're all dead."
She let Nick's briefing wash over her as she leant on Kurt's shoulder. He had a protective arm draped over her shoulder. A symbol of the close but platonic friendship between them. He'd been there for her for the last twenty-four hours. He'd watched Eva, ferried Jamie to Hank and back, and sat up with her all night whilst she cried. And he'd let her cry on him, let her tell him her fears. He felt her tense as Nick finished, sheltered her from the people crowding her, saying empty words of condolence, telling her everything would be alright in the end, that SHIELD would have Logan in custody soon enough. And the X-Men alone noticed the clenching of her fists, the slight tightening around her mouth, the signs she just wanted to get out before she blew. They ringed around her, a protective wall, unconscious of the fact they did it. More than once, Scott touched his visor but in the end, Kitty grabbed Tora's hand and tugged her though the crowds and people, ignoring shouts of protest as the two women passed straight through them. They remained intangible until they entered the Blackbird then Kitty stepped back and let Tora slump onto the seat.
"You okay?"
"They couldn't understand."
The brown-haired woman crouched down and touched Tora's hand.
"We'll get him back. Don't you worry."
She looked up, eyes dull.
"But at what cost Kitty? At what cost?"
Phoenix winced. The pain radiating from her companion had changed the room they were in from large and bright to dark and oppressive. She touched her friend's shoulder and drew and regret away from her.
"It's okay. Everything turned out okay in the end."
The carved ice turned to look at her.
"Did it? Was it really worth it? All the blood and tears and death? Was it worth what we gained?"