Fic: Starting Over (Scott/Logan) Chapter 10
Title: Starting Over (10/13)
Fandom: X-Men
Pairing: Scott/Logan
Rating: NC-17.
Word Count: 4,168
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Storm hadn't been happy to hear Logan's voice on the phone. In fact, Logan had felt that she was preparing to tell him off in the misguided notion that he had taken back his promise to return to the school. She had been armed for a battle of words with him, but what she hadn't been anticipating was the truth. A part of Logan had felt guilty over revealing it, but he couldn't take it back. He couldn't deny the fact that Scott was still alive any longer especially now that Scott could be in danger. Storm had many questions, but didn't push them upon Logan. She'd offered to help, to come out and see deal with what was happening, but Logan urged her to stay with the children-to keep a watch over things until he was certain that Scott was alright. Judging by the fact Scott hadn't answered his phone, Logan was certain he wasn't.
"Where are you…?" Logan questioned pulling up into the driveway to Scott's house. While he'd improvised in stealing a parked car outside of the hotel to get him back to Scott's house, it proved to be a challenge to make it move as fast as he'd wanted it to. When he raced up the driveway he'd ended up crashing it into the oversized iron fence outside of Scott's property, but it didn't matter. Nothing did when worry for Scott consumed him. Now hopping over the fence, Logan scaled it's walls, sprinting towards the house in a desperate rush to find Scott and protect him.
"Please don't let this end bad," Logan mouthed under his breath almost to the back of the house when he noticed someone on the back porch. Although he couldn't take in their scent clearly, he recognized the dark hair and the face of the woman in the trench coat.
"Wendy," Logan snarled thinking about the woman that had pursued Scott. While Logan hadn't seen her car in the drive, he began to ponder what she was up to again after Logan's blatant dismissal of her. It was unsettling to see her sliding open the back door to Scott's home sneaking inside. At the same time, however, she provided him with an easy access to Scott's place, giving him the opportunity to walk inside without the effort it would take to crash through the window. Rushing across the lawn, he pushed his way in behind Wendy preparing to confront her on her actions in his quest to find Scott. However, when he entered the kitchen off of the deck, he'd lost track of her, feeling himself prevented from following her scent.
"There you are," a voice called out to him, catching him off guard when he looked to the hallway before him seeing Scott standing in the doorway near the bedroom. He was wrapped up in a navy colored robe, wearing the wire rimmed glasses Logan had seen him in at the airport. There was a goofy grin on his face when he stepped forward addressing Logan with a smirk, "I was wondering when you'd be back…"
"Scott?" Logan questioned wearily feeling that something was off even though Scott was standing before him. For some reason Logan's sensory perception was playing tricks with his head, taking him from his normal ability to sense what was happening around him. Something had changed, someone was blocking him even as Scott took another step forward, "What's going on?"
"Not much sexy," Scot's blue eyes issued him a ravenous once over. His tongue darted out beyond his lower lip, the tip flicking in an involuntary brush over the plump flesh, "What about you?"
"You didn't answer your phone," Logan noted wearily, "Why is that?"
"I had a guest," Scott tugged at the sash on his robe, his blue eyes searching Logan's through the distance between them, "and I found myself a bit sidetracked."
"By your guest?" Logan raised a skeptical brow.
"That's right," Scott nodded taking another tentative step towards him, "but I'm sure if you'd prefer I can have her be on her way so that you and I can get some alone time with one another."
"Her?" Logan repeated feeling a warmth coil over his body. Distrust clouded his mind, his thoughts filled with the vision he'd seen before sneaking into Scott's home.
Scott nodded, "I'm sure you saw her arrive a few minutes ago. She and I had some catching up to do and…"
"Wendy?" Logan mouthed suspiciously.
"Right," Scott nodded again, his blue eyes giving Logan a long, contemplative once over, "she wanted to talk about what happened with us the other night."
"Did she now?" Logan questioned with a forward motion.
"She was upset with me, with us," Scott continued folding his arms in front of his chest, "She felt betrayed by what happened the other night."
"She has no reason to feel betrayed," Logan took another step forward when familiarity had overtaken him. Whatever had played with his head, rendering him senseless was gone, giving way to his primal instincts.
"Any woman would feel betrayed when the object of her obsession is unavailable," Scott's eyes darted over Logan once again in a predatory fashion. "It's downright disappointing to know that the fantasy you've stewed over will never be."
"She'll get over it," Logan shrugged his shoulders, his teeth clenching in the beginnings of a snarl.
"No woman gets over it especially when they want what they want and will go to great lengths to make it happen," Scott's eyes flickered with lust, with want and need when his eyes met Logan's in a challenge. He wiggled a suggestive brow before Logan rushed forward.
"Bullshit," Logan snarled reaching out he seized Scott by the arm, yanking him in closer with a wrenching tug, "What are you doing here?"
"I told you Wendy and I are…" Scott's grin twisted, transforming to a mischievous smirk when Logan slammed him up against the wall, eyes unrelenting in their questioning.
"Wendy's not here," Logan growled raising his fist up to the front of Scott's face. The claws began to reveal themselves when he wrapped his other hand around Scott's neck, "and neither is Summers. What have you done with him?"
"Logan," laughter rolled from Scott's lips, "you really need to learn to calm down. Hell, had I known back then that this body turned you on…well, I would've found a way to reinvent myself in order to use this to our advantage."
Logan's brow tensed, lip curling in realization when the vision of Scott before him transformed to the indigo, scaly textured skin that belonged to the woman before him. She laughed wildly, arching her head back just enough to expose her neck to him. Her golden colored eyes stole the blue depths away from the vision of Scott that she'd conjured up moments earlier. Her laughter mocked Logan, taunting him as his hold on her neck intensified.
"Had I known that this is what you wanted I could've made it so good for us Wolverine. I could've indulged every single fantasy you had over your little plaything. You could've been as rough with me as you wanted considering that unlike him I don't break. I could've taken you to places you've never experienced before," she mouthed in a seductive purr, her eyes meeting his in a predatory fashion. "I still could if you're up for it…"
"Not in this lifetime," Logan's claws spilled out, sliding centimeters away from one of her wide eyes. He leaned forward, squeezing her neck tighter than before, "start talking. Where's Scott?"
"I don't know," she answered stiffly, her words arrogant and winded. He clamped his hand down tighter around her neck and she gasped, "I don't know."
"You lie!" he snarled at her, having no qualms about destroying her if need be.
"You should be able to sense the truth yourself," she gulped, feeling him press down on the base of her throat. "There's blood on the floor, which I strongly suspect belongs to your lover. I would imagine he was abducted from here not far from this very spot…"
"Abducted," Logan repeated taking in the same familiar, dark scent that had been present at the hotel room. With Mystique in his grasp, he knew it wasn't her. It couldn't be when the other scent carried over him, causing him to react in a violent curl of his fingers over her neck.
"Stop," she finally gulped writhing and twisting against the wall. She brought her hand up, feeling defenseless when she began to transform into a vision of Jean, "Please Logan…"
"Don't," he warned with a snarl.
"Don't hurt me," she shifted into Scott, bringing back his blue eyes again, but unlike the real Scott, her eyes were devoid of the love and the sparkle behind them. Still she caught him off guard for a split second, "Please don't hurt me. You know that you couldn't live with killing your lover when you've risked everything to be with him."
"You're not Summers," Logan prepared to tear her head off if need be. He pressed the tip of his claw to the base of her throat, "start talking!"
"Fine," she relented with a nervous breath, "I'm looking for Magneto."
"Magneto?" he repeated giving her a long once over. "Why would you come here? He's in a retirement home where…"
"Where what?" she laughed defiantly, "Where he would live out his days being repressed and helpless after you and your team had hoped to use their 'cure' to torture him?"
"He needed to be stopped," Logan defended his actions remembering all that had happened leading to Magneto's ultimate ending in being stripped of his powers.
"You fool," she roared with laughter, her words growing darker when her golden eyes met his again, "He can't ever be stopped because he's too strong, too powerful. We all are."
"Is that right?" Logan taunted with amusement in his tone, "Because I happened to watch him go down like a dog before me when…"
"That's what they thought about me too Logan," she transformed again, turning into a mirror image of Logan himself, "but you can't hold an immortal down for long without them finding a way to crawl back out of the mess that the dying world has made around them."
"I don't understand," Logan revealed knowing only too well that she shouldn't be before him with her powers. He twisted at her neck again, finding himself uneasy with the mirror image of himself before him. She gasped, shifting into her natural form all over again, red hair framing her face in the moment.
"Their so called cure was like everything else the humans have failed at. They weren't able to rip our rights from us as they'd hoped," she smiled triumphantly, "their attempts to eradicate us have blown up in their faces now that we are back stronger than ever."
"Magneto as well?" Logan couldn't help but ask, wondering if somehow Magneto had played a hand in Scott's destruction or even the break in at the school.
"Soon," she nodded with a wild, angry laugh, "but those bastards you forced him to are keeping him from me. They moved him away before I could get him out of his containment…"
"Moved him," Logan paused loosening his grip on her ever so slightly, "you mean…?"
"The same people who took your precious Cyclops have Magneto as well. That much I'm sure of as they have been seeking out mutants that had experienced the change," Mystique informed him with a raw honesty in her tone.
"The change?" Logan questioned wearily.
She nodded, "You know mutants like me that they wanted to destroy, but couldn't. They are curious to understand how we can lose our powers, yet regain them and be rejuvenated when they drop like flies to disease and destruction. Magneto's power is unmatched by any other, so naturally he was one of many they are hoping to study-to be there when he experiences the rebirth of his power…"
"And Scott?" Logan asked searching her deceptive eyes.
"He's an anomaly to them," she explained in a tight whisper, "He wasn't brutalized with their 'cure', but rather he was taken down by one of his own. He never should've survived, but he did. He faced down something that they could never explain. They have no clue what will happen to him when he comes around or if…"
"Comes around," Logan repeated taking in her words, "are you saying that he could be…"
"A mutant again?" she finished for him with a wicked smirk teasing over the corners of her mouth, "Something like that undoubtedly has crossed their minds given their lack of control over Jean Grey's powers, but if they can find a way to stop it-to stop him, then they feel that they can use what saved him to destroy us. Their last cure was a failure, but with Magneto and your lover under their microscopes they could be successful in their next attempt. Your plaything will be their latest test subject as he was before."
"Before," Logan repeated with confusion behind his eyes.
"You really don't remember, do you?" she laughed icily, her lips curving downward with disgust, "I'd almost feel sorry for you if you weren't so pitiful. The things that they did to you…"
"What do you know?" Logan stiffened at her words. "Where is Scott?"
"He's about to be served up on a platter to the same men who wanted to steal everything from the both of you-from the people that you fought to forget when your memory was erased," she taunted him further, her eyes glowing through the shadows in the room. "Magneto told me all about what happened to you-to the both of you. He spilled all about what Charles fought to keep from you. It was a very interesting tale of the mighty Wolverine's great fall, but now it seems that you'll experience it all over again when they tear your lover to pieces with their poking and prodding. The things they did to him the first time were horrendous, but now, well now I'm sure they will be unyielding in their approach."
"The first time. What are you talking about? Scott doesn't have his powers. There's no indication that…" Logan tried to process what she was saying to him.
"As I said his case is rare because he never should've survived Phoenix. It's something that they want to exploit because deep inside of him they believe he holds the key to something more that they can use against us. Like the egomaniacs they are, they feel they can claim their own victory. They feel his survival was due to the torture that was inflicted upon him years ago, but at the same time they want to exploit it. Yes, he might be what those idiots consider normal for now, but he'll change soon enough. He'll evolve into something more and when he does they're going to use him to destroy all of us," she took in a labored breath, "Given what he survived and endured how could he not become one of the chosen few? The force he fought off was unlike anything any of us had ever known and…"
"So…what? So you're saying someone's been targeting Scott for a while? Seeking him out to destroy him?" Logan questioned worriedly, his fears mounting over the man he loved.
"Exploit him," she repeated again, "and they'll start by having him up against Magneto. They'll try to have them destroy one another should their powers return to them. Magneto's the strongest one, so…"
"So what?" Logan's lip curved in a frown, "You were aware of this for some time and what? You came out here to warn Scott? To try to give us a head's up on what was happening before they came after him?" Logan pressed her further in the hopes of getting a straight answer out of her.
"I didn't give a damn what they do to him," she shot back icily, "He isn't my concern, but Magneto is. I'm here because I plan to find the bastards that have him and make them suffer a long torturous road until they beg death for the inconvenience they've caused me."
"Sounds poetic," Logan noted with a tip of his head to the side.
"I thought so," she shot back icily, a sadistic smirk overtaking her blue features. She leaned back into the wall, her body relaxing in the thought that surrounded her, "It felt appropriate given the situation."
"I'm sure," Logan rolled his eyes at her, unable to ignore his worry about Scott.
"Regardless, I tracked him here by following you," she continued ignoring the sarcasm in his tone. "I'm sure that's how they found him as well given that he's been under their radar for a while. However, once I knew they'd taken Magneto, it was only a matter of time before they found their way to Cyclops. You simply pushed it along further in joining him."
"You're saying that I…" Logan frowned in realization.
"You were the best tracker they had without you even realizing it," she nodded not bothering to be gentle in her approach, "You were the push they needed to get Cyclops off of his game, out of touch with the danger he'd been fearing. Being at ease made the both of you weak and now, well now if you ever want to see him again, it seems time for us to step up and deal with the situation."
"What situation is it that you think we should be dealing with exactly?" Logan asked wearily releasing her. Although he didn't trust her or her motivations, he knew full well that he could destroy her if need be. He leaned back against the opposite wall, his mouth scowling back at her. "Considering I don't trust you, I hardly think that there is any 'we' involved."
"You don't have to trust me because I normally would have no use for you," she stated plainly, her words cool and collected despite the volatile nature of the distrust between them. "As much as it pains me I've come to the realization that together we can penetrate their fortress, claim Magneto and Cyclops and destroy those who want to destroy us."
"Just that easy, right?" Logan mouthed with a thick air of skepticism in his tone. Still as his eyes lingered to the blood on the carpeting, he felt a spike of fear pitted in his stomach over what was happening to Scott.
"Given that they have who we are looking for," she shrugged her shoulders, "I'm certain given our nature we both want them back. We team up, get inside and then if need be you go your way, I'll go mine."
"It sounds like a legitimate arrangement. I have no intention of trusting you, but if it will bring Scott back, then I suppose our tagging along with one another for now can't hurt," Logan conceded thinking about the terror that had guided him to Scott's home. Though Mystique was doing her best to sell Logan on something, he wasn't all that convinced of the truth in her words…yet.
"You know more than you think you do. They tried to lock it away inside of you, but it's there," she gave him a long once over as if she'd read his thoughts, "Deep down you just don't want to own up to it yet."
"What about you? You know more than you're letting on. You seem to be well versed on what's been brewing for a while, long before you made your way out here. So tell me where are they being held? Who has them exactly?" Logan demanded an answer. He tipped his head to see the bloodstains on the white carpeting. It was enough to send shivers over him with worry, but before he could reveal his fears, she interrupted his thoughts.
"Someone you know how to put down. Someone that you would rather enjoy seeking vengeance on," she informed him with a strong, steady breath, "The person who took them is someone that will need you to take care of them, but I don't imagine it will be a problem given that you'll be out for blood now that they've taken your lover."
"Where?" Logan questioned impatiently. "That seems to be the one detail that you keep overlooking in all of this."
"I was hoping you could help me with that answer," she met his eyes in a challenge, "Rumor has it you know where they are because you have been there before. That's part of why I've been following you around, looking for a way to get the answers I need from you."
"I don't know anything about where they could be," Logan argued finding himself straining for answers.
"On the contrary you know everything and if you stop hiding behind the walls that were thrown up in your mind, you can save them," she took a bold step forward, her eyes searching his once again, "together we can save them."
"I don't know where to look," Logan pondered the notion knowing that so many things were locked from his mind. Still as he thought back to the scent in the hotel room, to the fear that had consumed him, surrounding him by danger, he turned to the blood on the floor again, "Victor."
"Victor," she repeated raising a curious brow, "Victor Creed."
"Creed," Logan looked over his shoulder at her once again, "You know of him?"
"You know him far better than I do," she nodded simply, "but perhaps you'll return to that with a little prompting."
Before he could respond, she shifted before him, body twisting and coiling until there was a man standing before him. It's manifestation brought forth Logan's rage and anger, knowing in his every instinct that Victor was the reason he was suffering. He lunged forward involuntarily, preparing to strike when Mystique quickly shifted again, returning to herself in a gasp when Logan's claws slashed out at him.
"It's me," she quickly ducked down, twisting away from him before he could stab her, "but this is a good start. This shows you're remembering."
"I don't know how I could forget," Logan felt his pulse racing, his heart hammering in his chest. He turned to the blood again knowing of Victor's sick, sadistic nature, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that Victor had left him a breadcrumb to follow. Crouching down on the floor, Logan took in the deep, thick aroma of Scott's scent mixed in with the congealing blood on the floor. He reached out to touch it feeling the warmth cooling on his fingers in the moment.
"Scott's alive," a voice in the back of his mind bristled through him, giving him hope to where his lover could be. That same voice knew that Victor wouldn't be anything, but relentless with Scott. Victor would destroy Scott, tearing him to pieces in his own agenda without conforming to wishes of those who were exploiting now working to mutant powers. Scott's abduction had been personal, clouded by a dark agenda, but still Logan knew time was of the essence. He tipped his head to the side, taking in the faint, lingering scent of horror that had carried over Scott in the moments he'd been blindsided. Victor thrived on torturing him. It surrounded Logan and as Logan noticed the blood trailing off towards the wall, he felt another fear overtake him.
"What is it?" Mystique questioned watching Logan stand upright all over again, eyes focused on a new stain on the wall before him.
"Come find me," he read aloud seeing Scott's blood scribbled sloppy across the paint, clearly the message Victor hoped would prompt Logan to react. Instinctively Logan's claws expelled from his body, anger surging through his every synapse now that the rage had been awakened. He snarled, ready to tear his old rival to pieces when he looked to Mystique once again, "I know where they are."
Fandom: X-Men
Pairing: Scott/Logan
Rating: NC-17.
Word Count: 4,168
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Storm hadn't been happy to hear Logan's voice on the phone. In fact, Logan had felt that she was preparing to tell him off in the misguided notion that he had taken back his promise to return to the school. She had been armed for a battle of words with him, but what she hadn't been anticipating was the truth. A part of Logan had felt guilty over revealing it, but he couldn't take it back. He couldn't deny the fact that Scott was still alive any longer especially now that Scott could be in danger. Storm had many questions, but didn't push them upon Logan. She'd offered to help, to come out and see deal with what was happening, but Logan urged her to stay with the children-to keep a watch over things until he was certain that Scott was alright. Judging by the fact Scott hadn't answered his phone, Logan was certain he wasn't.
"Where are you…?" Logan questioned pulling up into the driveway to Scott's house. While he'd improvised in stealing a parked car outside of the hotel to get him back to Scott's house, it proved to be a challenge to make it move as fast as he'd wanted it to. When he raced up the driveway he'd ended up crashing it into the oversized iron fence outside of Scott's property, but it didn't matter. Nothing did when worry for Scott consumed him. Now hopping over the fence, Logan scaled it's walls, sprinting towards the house in a desperate rush to find Scott and protect him.
"Please don't let this end bad," Logan mouthed under his breath almost to the back of the house when he noticed someone on the back porch. Although he couldn't take in their scent clearly, he recognized the dark hair and the face of the woman in the trench coat.
"Wendy," Logan snarled thinking about the woman that had pursued Scott. While Logan hadn't seen her car in the drive, he began to ponder what she was up to again after Logan's blatant dismissal of her. It was unsettling to see her sliding open the back door to Scott's home sneaking inside. At the same time, however, she provided him with an easy access to Scott's place, giving him the opportunity to walk inside without the effort it would take to crash through the window. Rushing across the lawn, he pushed his way in behind Wendy preparing to confront her on her actions in his quest to find Scott. However, when he entered the kitchen off of the deck, he'd lost track of her, feeling himself prevented from following her scent.
"There you are," a voice called out to him, catching him off guard when he looked to the hallway before him seeing Scott standing in the doorway near the bedroom. He was wrapped up in a navy colored robe, wearing the wire rimmed glasses Logan had seen him in at the airport. There was a goofy grin on his face when he stepped forward addressing Logan with a smirk, "I was wondering when you'd be back…"
"Scott?" Logan questioned wearily feeling that something was off even though Scott was standing before him. For some reason Logan's sensory perception was playing tricks with his head, taking him from his normal ability to sense what was happening around him. Something had changed, someone was blocking him even as Scott took another step forward, "What's going on?"
"Not much sexy," Scot's blue eyes issued him a ravenous once over. His tongue darted out beyond his lower lip, the tip flicking in an involuntary brush over the plump flesh, "What about you?"
"You didn't answer your phone," Logan noted wearily, "Why is that?"
"I had a guest," Scott tugged at the sash on his robe, his blue eyes searching Logan's through the distance between them, "and I found myself a bit sidetracked."
"By your guest?" Logan raised a skeptical brow.
"That's right," Scott nodded taking another tentative step towards him, "but I'm sure if you'd prefer I can have her be on her way so that you and I can get some alone time with one another."
"Her?" Logan repeated feeling a warmth coil over his body. Distrust clouded his mind, his thoughts filled with the vision he'd seen before sneaking into Scott's home.
Scott nodded, "I'm sure you saw her arrive a few minutes ago. She and I had some catching up to do and…"
"Wendy?" Logan mouthed suspiciously.
"Right," Scott nodded again, his blue eyes giving Logan a long, contemplative once over, "she wanted to talk about what happened with us the other night."
"Did she now?" Logan questioned with a forward motion.
"She was upset with me, with us," Scott continued folding his arms in front of his chest, "She felt betrayed by what happened the other night."
"She has no reason to feel betrayed," Logan took another step forward when familiarity had overtaken him. Whatever had played with his head, rendering him senseless was gone, giving way to his primal instincts.
"Any woman would feel betrayed when the object of her obsession is unavailable," Scott's eyes darted over Logan once again in a predatory fashion. "It's downright disappointing to know that the fantasy you've stewed over will never be."
"She'll get over it," Logan shrugged his shoulders, his teeth clenching in the beginnings of a snarl.
"No woman gets over it especially when they want what they want and will go to great lengths to make it happen," Scott's eyes flickered with lust, with want and need when his eyes met Logan's in a challenge. He wiggled a suggestive brow before Logan rushed forward.
"Bullshit," Logan snarled reaching out he seized Scott by the arm, yanking him in closer with a wrenching tug, "What are you doing here?"
"I told you Wendy and I are…" Scott's grin twisted, transforming to a mischievous smirk when Logan slammed him up against the wall, eyes unrelenting in their questioning.
"Wendy's not here," Logan growled raising his fist up to the front of Scott's face. The claws began to reveal themselves when he wrapped his other hand around Scott's neck, "and neither is Summers. What have you done with him?"
"Logan," laughter rolled from Scott's lips, "you really need to learn to calm down. Hell, had I known back then that this body turned you on…well, I would've found a way to reinvent myself in order to use this to our advantage."
Logan's brow tensed, lip curling in realization when the vision of Scott before him transformed to the indigo, scaly textured skin that belonged to the woman before him. She laughed wildly, arching her head back just enough to expose her neck to him. Her golden colored eyes stole the blue depths away from the vision of Scott that she'd conjured up moments earlier. Her laughter mocked Logan, taunting him as his hold on her neck intensified.
"Had I known that this is what you wanted I could've made it so good for us Wolverine. I could've indulged every single fantasy you had over your little plaything. You could've been as rough with me as you wanted considering that unlike him I don't break. I could've taken you to places you've never experienced before," she mouthed in a seductive purr, her eyes meeting his in a predatory fashion. "I still could if you're up for it…"
"Not in this lifetime," Logan's claws spilled out, sliding centimeters away from one of her wide eyes. He leaned forward, squeezing her neck tighter than before, "start talking. Where's Scott?"
"I don't know," she answered stiffly, her words arrogant and winded. He clamped his hand down tighter around her neck and she gasped, "I don't know."
"You lie!" he snarled at her, having no qualms about destroying her if need be.
"You should be able to sense the truth yourself," she gulped, feeling him press down on the base of her throat. "There's blood on the floor, which I strongly suspect belongs to your lover. I would imagine he was abducted from here not far from this very spot…"
"Abducted," Logan repeated taking in the same familiar, dark scent that had been present at the hotel room. With Mystique in his grasp, he knew it wasn't her. It couldn't be when the other scent carried over him, causing him to react in a violent curl of his fingers over her neck.
"Stop," she finally gulped writhing and twisting against the wall. She brought her hand up, feeling defenseless when she began to transform into a vision of Jean, "Please Logan…"
"Don't," he warned with a snarl.
"Don't hurt me," she shifted into Scott, bringing back his blue eyes again, but unlike the real Scott, her eyes were devoid of the love and the sparkle behind them. Still she caught him off guard for a split second, "Please don't hurt me. You know that you couldn't live with killing your lover when you've risked everything to be with him."
"You're not Summers," Logan prepared to tear her head off if need be. He pressed the tip of his claw to the base of her throat, "start talking!"
"Fine," she relented with a nervous breath, "I'm looking for Magneto."
"Magneto?" he repeated giving her a long once over. "Why would you come here? He's in a retirement home where…"
"Where what?" she laughed defiantly, "Where he would live out his days being repressed and helpless after you and your team had hoped to use their 'cure' to torture him?"
"He needed to be stopped," Logan defended his actions remembering all that had happened leading to Magneto's ultimate ending in being stripped of his powers.
"You fool," she roared with laughter, her words growing darker when her golden eyes met his again, "He can't ever be stopped because he's too strong, too powerful. We all are."
"Is that right?" Logan taunted with amusement in his tone, "Because I happened to watch him go down like a dog before me when…"
"That's what they thought about me too Logan," she transformed again, turning into a mirror image of Logan himself, "but you can't hold an immortal down for long without them finding a way to crawl back out of the mess that the dying world has made around them."
"I don't understand," Logan revealed knowing only too well that she shouldn't be before him with her powers. He twisted at her neck again, finding himself uneasy with the mirror image of himself before him. She gasped, shifting into her natural form all over again, red hair framing her face in the moment.
"Their so called cure was like everything else the humans have failed at. They weren't able to rip our rights from us as they'd hoped," she smiled triumphantly, "their attempts to eradicate us have blown up in their faces now that we are back stronger than ever."
"Magneto as well?" Logan couldn't help but ask, wondering if somehow Magneto had played a hand in Scott's destruction or even the break in at the school.
"Soon," she nodded with a wild, angry laugh, "but those bastards you forced him to are keeping him from me. They moved him away before I could get him out of his containment…"
"Moved him," Logan paused loosening his grip on her ever so slightly, "you mean…?"
"The same people who took your precious Cyclops have Magneto as well. That much I'm sure of as they have been seeking out mutants that had experienced the change," Mystique informed him with a raw honesty in her tone.
"The change?" Logan questioned wearily.
She nodded, "You know mutants like me that they wanted to destroy, but couldn't. They are curious to understand how we can lose our powers, yet regain them and be rejuvenated when they drop like flies to disease and destruction. Magneto's power is unmatched by any other, so naturally he was one of many they are hoping to study-to be there when he experiences the rebirth of his power…"
"And Scott?" Logan asked searching her deceptive eyes.
"He's an anomaly to them," she explained in a tight whisper, "He wasn't brutalized with their 'cure', but rather he was taken down by one of his own. He never should've survived, but he did. He faced down something that they could never explain. They have no clue what will happen to him when he comes around or if…"
"Comes around," Logan repeated taking in her words, "are you saying that he could be…"
"A mutant again?" she finished for him with a wicked smirk teasing over the corners of her mouth, "Something like that undoubtedly has crossed their minds given their lack of control over Jean Grey's powers, but if they can find a way to stop it-to stop him, then they feel that they can use what saved him to destroy us. Their last cure was a failure, but with Magneto and your lover under their microscopes they could be successful in their next attempt. Your plaything will be their latest test subject as he was before."
"Before," Logan repeated with confusion behind his eyes.
"You really don't remember, do you?" she laughed icily, her lips curving downward with disgust, "I'd almost feel sorry for you if you weren't so pitiful. The things that they did to you…"
"What do you know?" Logan stiffened at her words. "Where is Scott?"
"He's about to be served up on a platter to the same men who wanted to steal everything from the both of you-from the people that you fought to forget when your memory was erased," she taunted him further, her eyes glowing through the shadows in the room. "Magneto told me all about what happened to you-to the both of you. He spilled all about what Charles fought to keep from you. It was a very interesting tale of the mighty Wolverine's great fall, but now it seems that you'll experience it all over again when they tear your lover to pieces with their poking and prodding. The things they did to him the first time were horrendous, but now, well now I'm sure they will be unyielding in their approach."
"The first time. What are you talking about? Scott doesn't have his powers. There's no indication that…" Logan tried to process what she was saying to him.
"As I said his case is rare because he never should've survived Phoenix. It's something that they want to exploit because deep inside of him they believe he holds the key to something more that they can use against us. Like the egomaniacs they are, they feel they can claim their own victory. They feel his survival was due to the torture that was inflicted upon him years ago, but at the same time they want to exploit it. Yes, he might be what those idiots consider normal for now, but he'll change soon enough. He'll evolve into something more and when he does they're going to use him to destroy all of us," she took in a labored breath, "Given what he survived and endured how could he not become one of the chosen few? The force he fought off was unlike anything any of us had ever known and…"
"So…what? So you're saying someone's been targeting Scott for a while? Seeking him out to destroy him?" Logan questioned worriedly, his fears mounting over the man he loved.
"Exploit him," she repeated again, "and they'll start by having him up against Magneto. They'll try to have them destroy one another should their powers return to them. Magneto's the strongest one, so…"
"So what?" Logan's lip curved in a frown, "You were aware of this for some time and what? You came out here to warn Scott? To try to give us a head's up on what was happening before they came after him?" Logan pressed her further in the hopes of getting a straight answer out of her.
"I didn't give a damn what they do to him," she shot back icily, "He isn't my concern, but Magneto is. I'm here because I plan to find the bastards that have him and make them suffer a long torturous road until they beg death for the inconvenience they've caused me."
"Sounds poetic," Logan noted with a tip of his head to the side.
"I thought so," she shot back icily, a sadistic smirk overtaking her blue features. She leaned back into the wall, her body relaxing in the thought that surrounded her, "It felt appropriate given the situation."
"I'm sure," Logan rolled his eyes at her, unable to ignore his worry about Scott.
"Regardless, I tracked him here by following you," she continued ignoring the sarcasm in his tone. "I'm sure that's how they found him as well given that he's been under their radar for a while. However, once I knew they'd taken Magneto, it was only a matter of time before they found their way to Cyclops. You simply pushed it along further in joining him."
"You're saying that I…" Logan frowned in realization.
"You were the best tracker they had without you even realizing it," she nodded not bothering to be gentle in her approach, "You were the push they needed to get Cyclops off of his game, out of touch with the danger he'd been fearing. Being at ease made the both of you weak and now, well now if you ever want to see him again, it seems time for us to step up and deal with the situation."
"What situation is it that you think we should be dealing with exactly?" Logan asked wearily releasing her. Although he didn't trust her or her motivations, he knew full well that he could destroy her if need be. He leaned back against the opposite wall, his mouth scowling back at her. "Considering I don't trust you, I hardly think that there is any 'we' involved."
"You don't have to trust me because I normally would have no use for you," she stated plainly, her words cool and collected despite the volatile nature of the distrust between them. "As much as it pains me I've come to the realization that together we can penetrate their fortress, claim Magneto and Cyclops and destroy those who want to destroy us."
"Just that easy, right?" Logan mouthed with a thick air of skepticism in his tone. Still as his eyes lingered to the blood on the carpeting, he felt a spike of fear pitted in his stomach over what was happening to Scott.
"Given that they have who we are looking for," she shrugged her shoulders, "I'm certain given our nature we both want them back. We team up, get inside and then if need be you go your way, I'll go mine."
"It sounds like a legitimate arrangement. I have no intention of trusting you, but if it will bring Scott back, then I suppose our tagging along with one another for now can't hurt," Logan conceded thinking about the terror that had guided him to Scott's home. Though Mystique was doing her best to sell Logan on something, he wasn't all that convinced of the truth in her words…yet.
"You know more than you think you do. They tried to lock it away inside of you, but it's there," she gave him a long once over as if she'd read his thoughts, "Deep down you just don't want to own up to it yet."
"What about you? You know more than you're letting on. You seem to be well versed on what's been brewing for a while, long before you made your way out here. So tell me where are they being held? Who has them exactly?" Logan demanded an answer. He tipped his head to see the bloodstains on the white carpeting. It was enough to send shivers over him with worry, but before he could reveal his fears, she interrupted his thoughts.
"Someone you know how to put down. Someone that you would rather enjoy seeking vengeance on," she informed him with a strong, steady breath, "The person who took them is someone that will need you to take care of them, but I don't imagine it will be a problem given that you'll be out for blood now that they've taken your lover."
"Where?" Logan questioned impatiently. "That seems to be the one detail that you keep overlooking in all of this."
"I was hoping you could help me with that answer," she met his eyes in a challenge, "Rumor has it you know where they are because you have been there before. That's part of why I've been following you around, looking for a way to get the answers I need from you."
"I don't know anything about where they could be," Logan argued finding himself straining for answers.
"On the contrary you know everything and if you stop hiding behind the walls that were thrown up in your mind, you can save them," she took a bold step forward, her eyes searching his once again, "together we can save them."
"I don't know where to look," Logan pondered the notion knowing that so many things were locked from his mind. Still as he thought back to the scent in the hotel room, to the fear that had consumed him, surrounding him by danger, he turned to the blood on the floor again, "Victor."
"Victor," she repeated raising a curious brow, "Victor Creed."
"Creed," Logan looked over his shoulder at her once again, "You know of him?"
"You know him far better than I do," she nodded simply, "but perhaps you'll return to that with a little prompting."
Before he could respond, she shifted before him, body twisting and coiling until there was a man standing before him. It's manifestation brought forth Logan's rage and anger, knowing in his every instinct that Victor was the reason he was suffering. He lunged forward involuntarily, preparing to strike when Mystique quickly shifted again, returning to herself in a gasp when Logan's claws slashed out at him.
"It's me," she quickly ducked down, twisting away from him before he could stab her, "but this is a good start. This shows you're remembering."
"I don't know how I could forget," Logan felt his pulse racing, his heart hammering in his chest. He turned to the blood again knowing of Victor's sick, sadistic nature, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that Victor had left him a breadcrumb to follow. Crouching down on the floor, Logan took in the deep, thick aroma of Scott's scent mixed in with the congealing blood on the floor. He reached out to touch it feeling the warmth cooling on his fingers in the moment.
"Scott's alive," a voice in the back of his mind bristled through him, giving him hope to where his lover could be. That same voice knew that Victor wouldn't be anything, but relentless with Scott. Victor would destroy Scott, tearing him to pieces in his own agenda without conforming to wishes of those who were exploiting now working to mutant powers. Scott's abduction had been personal, clouded by a dark agenda, but still Logan knew time was of the essence. He tipped his head to the side, taking in the faint, lingering scent of horror that had carried over Scott in the moments he'd been blindsided. Victor thrived on torturing him. It surrounded Logan and as Logan noticed the blood trailing off towards the wall, he felt another fear overtake him.
"What is it?" Mystique questioned watching Logan stand upright all over again, eyes focused on a new stain on the wall before him.
"Come find me," he read aloud seeing Scott's blood scribbled sloppy across the paint, clearly the message Victor hoped would prompt Logan to react. Instinctively Logan's claws expelled from his body, anger surging through his every synapse now that the rage had been awakened. He snarled, ready to tear his old rival to pieces when he looked to Mystique once again, "I know where they are."