It didn’t take long to return to the mansion. Logan wasn’t surprised to find Storm waiting for them in the landing bay, along with her entire team. Sabretooth still carried Rogue’s catatonic form, even though both Logan and Psylocke had protested. Psylocke had wanted to secure her on a gurney in case Carol’s psyche emerged, while Logan had simply wanted her out of the psycho’s arms.
“Which way?” Sabretooth asked as he stood tall in front of the weather witch.
“I’ll show you,” Hank McCoy said quickly as he stepped forward. “Colossus, if you will accompany us. Bobby, too.”
“I can’t believe you allowed that animal in here,” Storm said harshly, turning her heated gaze on an angry Wolverine. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“It wasn’t his decision.” The soft, feminine voice came from the back of the crowd that was slowly filing off the plane. Colossus and Sabretooth had been first, with Logan quickly following. For the first time, Storm noticed that there were more guests than the monster who was now in the infirmary. The woman who spoke was tall, slim, and of Asian ancestry. Her accent was British, making her already beautiful voice seem more elegant. “I insisted. Victor and the girl became very close during the months they were held in captivity together. She is rather fond of him, and as such, he has grown increasingly protective. He will be vital in what must be done if we are going to save the girl.”
“Would you all care to introduce yourselves for the benefit of those of us who reside here?” Storm asked, eyeing each person suspiciously. She let her gaze settle on the man with the red devil eyes for a moment, instantly recognizing him for what he truly was. She had grown up on the streets of Cairo, surviving as a young thief before the professor had found her and brought her home. One thing she had never forgotten was how to recognize another thief. She let her gaze finally rest on a face she had known well, his own eyes meeting hers without the trepidation and anger he had felt as a boy living under this same roof. “If you would follow me into the War Room, please.”
Storm turned quickly, not allowing anyone the opportunity to argue. “And Logan, I would greatly appreciate it if you joined Beast in the infirmary. I don’t trust that animal.”
He didn’t ask permission before following the feral mutant. He didn’t know him at all, but he was sure the man named Logan knew he was close behind; it wasn’t like he was trying to be stealthy about it. He followed closely, not caring if his footsteps were too loud or his breathing too labored. He needed to know if she was going to be all right. He cared about her too much not to know.
“You should have stayed with the others, Kid,” Logan said slowly as he rounded the corner to the entrance of the lab. He had known the boy had followed him the moment he stepped away from the others, but had also caught a whiff of his pain. It was his scent that kept Logan from turning him back. There was something familiar in his scent, something that matched another he had once known. “This isn’t going to be fun.”
“I need to know she’s alright, she was willing to sacrifice herself to lead us. Victor’s not the only one that cares,” Havok looked away from the feral’s back, gathering his thoughts. He held no contempt for Victor, unlike the man before him, but he also felt the guilt that came with knowing he should have done something to help. If only he had been able.
Logan whirled around, catching the boy off-guard. “What’s your name, your real name? I know your scent from - I knew a scent like yours once.”
“My name is Alex,” Havok replied, watching the war in the man’s eyes. He was trying to control his emotions, but was obviously having a hard time. “My brother was Scott Summers. You probably knew him, too.”
“Not as well as some of the others around here,” Logan replied as his eyes softened, “but yeah, I knew him.”
Havok saw a shadow of a smile cross the man’s features. “What’s so funny?”
“If it wasn’t for your scents, I would have never guessed you were even related.”
“I don’t look much like him?”
“You don’t have a stick up your ass,” Logan replied as he let the smirk flash for a brief second before opening the door to the infirmary.
“Would one of you like to tell me exactly what is going on? John?” Storm asked quickly once everyone was seated. She mentally noted how much he had changed in the months since she had last seen him on the island. He had lost weight and, although he had always been a bit shifty, she found that his movements were more defensive now. She watched as he hesitated, marking all the exits in the room. He was much paler and his brown eyes seemed almost dull, a broken shadow of the kid she once knew.
He cleared his throat, looking to the other two men who had come in with him for advice. No one said anything, but the looks were clear enough. What choice did they really have?
“Rogue rescued us two weeks ago from an underground lab in the Mojave Desert. There were fifteen mutants in all. Most of them had been taken under the guise of participating in the cure,” John flinched at his own words, still finding himself disgusted by the idea, even if he had become a bit more understanding. “These mutants were lucky enough to have people who were looking for them and homes to return to. Rogue and a woman named Carol Danvers were among those kidnapped from around the country. Gambit and Quicksilver were both donated from a prison while I was taken directly to the compound from Alcatraz. Victor had already been captive for a while before this. I couldn’t say about Havok…”
“Havok?” Storm asked, her gaze darting to Jubilee who, for once, was quietly sitting to the side.
Jubilee shook her head, not believing how obtuse her teacher could really be. “The blond man who followed Logan to the infirmary. I didn’t think there was any reason to stop him. On the ride over here, he was the only one brave enough to sit between Logan and the big kitty cat. I caught him holding Rogue’s hand once; I think there was something going on between them.”
“So,” John interrupted quickly, a familiar smirk marking his lips, “I wonder how Hank is dealing with this.”
“What are you talking about?” Storm asked, rubbing her temples with her forefingers. Her headache had been growing exponentially since Logan’s call.
John looked around, wondering how he should explain this.
“Remy be thinking that the petite here, she don’t understand what she have thrown together,” the man with the devil eyes said, his own smirk flashing. “Remy, he be getting what Pyro saying.”
Quicksilver couldn’t help his own chuckle as he looked around the table. “What they are trying to say is that you have four very powerful, very emotionally invested men in that room. None of who is destined to like each other. I hope you got a plan to get the good doctor out of there.”
“You really think it’s safe for the kid to be in here, Runt?” Sabretooth asked with a deadly smirk. Both he and Logan were in the mist of an unspoken truce. Although each was more than a little anxious and wary of the other, neither was willing to do anything that could compromise the girl on the gurney. “If she wakes up and sees him here, well, I don’t think it matters which personality is in control.”
Logan growled at the bigger man, knowing that his words were true. He looked over to see both Bobby and Havok standing close to the door of the room Rogue was currently being examined in. Although he didn’t know Psylocke at all, Logan knew that Rogue was in good hands. Besides Hank watching over her, Colossus was in there, too. He would never allow anything to happen to his friend and teammate. “I’d send him away, but I’ve got the feeling that it wouldn’t go over too well with him or Storm. What’s with the other kid?”
“Havok?” Victor asked, arching an eyebrow. “They had a nice little tumble in the sheets. Just friends is what she said, but I got a feeling he thinks it’s a little more. Looks like you might have a little more competition than you thought, Runt.”
Logan growled again as Victor let loose a quiet chuckle. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
Victor shook his head, lowering his gaze. “You don’t got to deny anything. Anyone can see what she means to you. You were never the type to get so caught up in a woman. Especially not one you weren’t even fucking, Jimmy.”
Logan turned to the other feral mutant, his entire demeanor changing as his focus shifted. He hadn’t expected the name, but it was familiar somehow. “What did you call me?”
“Jimmy?” Victor asked slowly as he smirked again. It was obvious that he was toying with the other man. “Wait. What was it you were going by now? Logan? Sorry. Slip of the memory.”
Victor laughed softly as he watched the confusion rise in Logan’s eyes. Before the smaller man could retort, though, the doors to the infirmary unit opened swiftly.
“We’ll finish this conversation later,” Logan said with a quick growl, his eyes burning with the anger and hate the man before him aroused. Whatever reason he had for that animosity, it had started long before Logan could remember.
“Looking forward to it, Jimmy,” Victor replied with a twisted smirk.