Ororo’s laughter faded slowly as Logan held her, neither of them willing or even able to let go for several moments. They both needed this, desperately. After what they had both been through in the past couple of weeks, there was a deep seated need to reconnect on a very primal level. And so, they stood there holding each other amidst the carnage and chaos around them.
After what seemed like an eternity, Logan felt the beast within him give a great sigh and slowly descend down to its lair, somewhere in the depths of his subconscious. He felt the last of his anger and rage simply leave him, leaving behind a wave of serenity allowing the horror and pain of his capture and imprisonment to begin fading. And while the remnants of the experience would always be with him, it was more like a shade, a shadow than a true memory.
In time the memory would continue to fade even more and perhaps even disappear into the depths of his mind if he allowed it to. And it was all simply due to her presence, the feel of her pressed against him. For the first time since he was betrayed, he felt hope welling up inside of him. No matter what the world might hold in store for them, no matter what the future might bring, they would weather it together and they would be stronger for it.
He was brought back to himself when he felt her shift in his arms, pulling away from him slightly to gaze lovingly into his face. There were still tears slowly sliding down her face but she seemed to be collecting herself quickly. He let his arms drop and simply stared at her as she reached up to touch her shoulder where her communicator was housed and called the others.
“Jimmy, Rogue, I have him. Regroup on the north side of the complex. I am going to start demolishing the building as soon as you are clear.”
There was a slight pause before Rogue responded. “Copy that Storm; we’ll be waiting fer ya’ll”
Logan looked at Ororo in askance as she cut the channel. “Ya plannin’ on destroyin’ somethin’ darlin’?”
She nodded. “Yes, I want to be sure that this place is never again used to hurt another person, human and mutant alike.” Her lips were pressed tightly together and the muscles in her face twitched slightly.
He gave her a long searching look before simply nodding and standing back. If anyone could understand the anger and pain she was currently feeling, it was him. He might normally have argued caution but the look on her face and the tension in her shoulders all told him that it was one argument he would not only lose, but also one he might truly regret having with her.
She gave him a gentle smile, squeezing his shoulder gently in gratitude before lifting from the ground to hover over the lab that had been his prison for the past several days. He could feel the change in pressure as she took control of the elements and bent them to her bidding. The sky darkened and the wind picked up speed as she ascended into the sky until he could barely make her out against the grayish-black clouds.
Moments later, Logan felt the hair on the back of his neck stand to attention as the inky black sky was split by the biggest bolt of lightening he had ever seen. It struck the lab dead center, vanishing in a blinding flash of light only to leave a burning, hazy path in its wake. A split second later a deafening crack of thunder nearly deafened him, shaking the very ground under his feet.
Logan dropped the hand shielding his eyes and watched as the building began to burn, several small explosions rocking the complex as the fire grew. He expected Ororo to land next to him and simply watch the building burn but she did not. A few minutes later, the wind went suddenly still and Logan watched in amazement as a funnel cloud built over the complex and touched down.
It rotated faster and faster, building and building as it tore through the complex but never left its spot. The cloud of debris grew and grew until he could no longer see the ruins through it. As it died down, Logan realized that the debris simply floated to surround the crater that had once housed the government lab. She had maintained control over it the entire time and not a single piece has escaped her to harm anyone around them.
He gave a soft whistle as the wind died down and Ororo landed gently next to him. She stood there with him, staring at the destroyed complex, her face still and set, her emotions well hidden behind the mask she showed the rest of the world. But Logan knew her too well to believe the blank lines of her face. He knew that she was very shaken by what she had nearly done all for love of him.
He reached out, touching her shoulder as she continued to stare at the circle of debris in front of them; silently offering her all the love and support in his heart. She grabbed his hand, smiling at him in gratitude as she continued contemplating the destruction a moment longer. Then, he pulled her away from the carnage and they went to meet the others.
They made their way to the north side of the complex, their passage unmolested by the few people still left. It seemed that there were few willing to challenge them after witnessing Ororo’s display of power in destroying the building. They approached the tree line and Logan heard Rogue before he saw her, her piercing shriek was a welcome sound to his sensitive ears.
“Logan!” She flew up to him, embracing him tightly, before bursting into quiet sobs.
He hugged her back just as fiercely, his voice gruff and low. “Hey kid.”
She pulled back, looking him over for damage. “Logan…”
He chuckled and just hugged her again. He had a pretty good idea what she was going to say but he didn’t need to hear it. “Its ok kid, I’m glad ta see ya too.” He looked past her to see Jimmy waiting silently behind her. Logan let go of Rogue and gave the young mutant an affectionate cuff on the shoulder. “Hey Jimmy.”
Jimmy simply nodded. “Hey Logan, its good to have you back.” There were tears in his eyes as well and Logan smiled.
“Yeah, and thanks fer comin’ ta get me outta here.”
Jimmy smiled and nodded. “I owed you.”
Logan shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not; but thanks just the same.” He caught a subtle scent and turned, surprised to see Remy standing in the shadows of the forest. Of all the people he expected to have come to his rescue, Remy was not one of them. They had not parted well and things were still unsure between them. But perhaps that was about to change.
He stilled, nodding his head slightly at the Cajun. “Gambit.”
Remy answered the slight nod with one of his own. “Wolverine.” Remy approached him, looking him over carefully. “Remy glad to see you in one piece.” His tone was pleasant and mild.
The tension flowed out of Logan as he simply nodded. Things were going to be just fine between them. “Yeah, me too.” He reached out and offered his hand to the young man. After a moment, Remy took it and shook it firmly.
Smiling, Ororo stepped up to them all, her hand finding Logan’s. “Let’s get back to the blackbird, shall we?” There were collective nods from the others. “Rogue, can you take Remy and Jimmy back?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let us be off.” And she wrapped her arm around Logan’s waist before lifting them both into the air. Leaving behind the debris from the destroyed lab and a group of soldiers and scientists who had witnessed something no one would ever believe.
Several moments later, the blackbird took off with Remy and Rogue at the controls. In the rear of the jet, Logan rested on one of the gurneys as Ororo inserted an IV into his arm. His wounds were healing well but he was showing signs of severe fatigue not to mention malnutrition and dehydration. It seemed that they had severely taxed his reserves in the past couple of weeks.
Ororo smiled as she taped the tube into place, running her hand gently over his chest and face. “Is that better my love?”
He gave her a soft smile, capturing her hand in his own, giving it a gentle kiss before letting it go. “Yeah.” He let his eyes close as she continued making him comfortable. He lay there for several moments simply drifting as his body began to regain its equilibrium. The fogginess that had covered his mind was slowly receding as the fluids dripped into him.
After a moment, a thought occurred to him. He opened his eyes and touched Ororo’s hand. “I got bad news for ya darlin’, Forge was behind all this.”
She stilled next to him, a soft sigh escaping her lips. “I know.”
Logan’s eyes shown with sheer rage as he spoke. “I’m gonna kill him Ororo, I’m gonna fuckin’ kill him for this.”
“Logan…”
He cut her off with a quick jerk of his head as he lifted himself to a sitting position on the gurney. “No, I can look past what he did ta me, god knows there’ve been enough people try this shit over the years, but he hurt ya. He hurt you! I can’t let that lie.” His voice was low, savage and very, very angry.
She touched his chest gently, trying to soothe him. “I know that Logan, goddess knows I am well aware of what he did. But I simply cannot stand by while you kill him. Barring the repercussions that might come from the government, I cannot allow another blot on your soul.”
He sighed, not willing to give up. “Ororo…”
She touched his face gently her cerulean eyes boring into his. “Logan, please I beg of you. Do not do this; I was so willing to kill those men, for you, because they hurt you and that would have done nothing but allow the cycle of hatred to perpetuate itself. Goddess knows Forge deserves whatever violence is visited upon him, but if you kill him you will only allow the hatred and anger in his heart to live on, in you. Dear goddess I do not know if I can bear that.” Her eyes widened as the tears that filled them struggled not to fall.
Logan sighed softly at the desperate expression on her face. If anyone else had asked this of him, he would have told them to take a flying leap off a short pier and gone and done just as he pleased. But it wasn’t just anyone asking; it was her. And he knew just how much it cost her to ask this of him, to have her beg him to deny his very nature; deny the animal within its need for blood and vengeance; something they both knew was very difficult for him.
He touched her face, wiping away the tears that had gathered in her eyes and simply nodded. “You win darlin’. He lives but only cause ya want him to. If ya ever change yer mind, let me know.”
She smiled at him, the radiance of it astounding him all over again. That she would ask Forge be spared, the man who had broken her heart, not once but twice, the tormentor who had lied and deceived them all, well it said so much for the soul within her and the heart that commanded it to feel such compassion. How in the world had he ever been so blessed as to be loved by such a wonderful creature? He had no idea but he had a very strong feeling that he would have the rest of their lives to discover just what had blessed him with her love. With that final thought, he let himself drift off to some much needed sleep. He needed to be rested when they confronted their betrayer.
Back at mansion, Scott sat in the radio room his eyes glued to the radar as he willed the blackbird to appear on it. It had only been a few hours since Ororo had run off with the blackbird and he had been keeping a dedicated vigil ever since. Part of it was out of anger at what she had done. But truth be known, a large part of it was also out of guilt.
Ororo had reached out to them with the truth, desperate to tell them that Forge was lying to them and that Logan was still alive. And none of them had listened; not the professor, not Jean, not Remy and certainly not himself. So she’d run off, hoping to show them the truth of Forge’s duplicity and bring Logan back alive. And because no one else believed her, she’d been forced to do it alone.
Scott felt a great deal of shame over that. She was a teammate, a comrade but more importantly she was also like a sister to him and Jean and they had failed her; simply by not trusting her intuition. He only hoped that they would be given the chance to make it up to her somehow, someway. He only hoped that she would come back, safe and sound and with Logan.
There was a soft blip on the radar screen, drawing him out of his revere and he sat up straighter, staring at it for several seconds, waiting for it to simply disappear. But it didn’t and more importantly, it matched the blackbird and was making a beeline for the mansion. He stood, hitting the comm to the Professor’s office. “She’s coming back professor.” And as he stood, he had a sudden evil thought as it occurred to him just how he could begin paying Ororo back for his lack of faith. With an evil smile, he reached for the same comm panel and paged Forge.
Forge responded quickly enough, meeting Scott just outside the hangar as Scott stood there waiting for him. “What can I do for you Scott?”
Scott waved the older man forward. “Forge, we need a favor. Hank took the blackbird out the other day and noticed something seriously wrong with the hydraulics in the wings. We can’t seem to find the problem; would you mind giving it a look?” The sound of the jet landing could be heard even outside the doors. Scott waited until it began to fade before approaching the door.
Forge nodded. “Sure, no problem.” He pushed through the door to face 5 feet 2 inches of feral mutant fury. His eyes widened as he tried to back away only to find Scott blocking his exit. He gulped audibly as he reluctantly and slowly turned to facedhis fate. “Logan.”
Inside the blackbird, as Ororo prepared the jet for landing, Logan quietly stood up and removed the IV. He wanted to be ready to move the moment the jet touched the ground. He had promised not to kill Forge and he would uphold that promise. But he had never promised the man would walk away completely unharmed.
When the jet set down gently, Logan began lowering the ramp; the sound of the engines powering down hid the noise but Logan was no fool. There was likely an alarm light coming on in the cockpit even now and he wondered just how long Ororo would give him before she came after him. He wondered if he’d make to Forge before then.
Then, as he stood there he smelled Scott come into the hangar and more importantly Forge was with him. An evil smile lit his face; it seemed he didn’t have far to go after all. He loped down the gangway and made his way to the hangar doors, feeling the beast inside him rage to the surface as it too sensed the betrayer.
He watched as Forge caught sight of him, the tin man’s eyes widening as he took in Logan’s feral state. He turned to leave only to find Scott blocking the way. Logan was impressed by Scott’s backbone, wondering if he’d set the other man up.
Then Forge swallowed audibly and turned to face Logan. “Logan.”
Logan sneered at him, his claws itching inside his forearms. “Ya didn’t think ta see me again did ya, ya back-stabbing sonnava bitch?”
Forge gave a flabbergasted “you’re alive.” Then doors opened behind him as Jean, Hank, Warren and Betsy entered the room.
Logan snorted loudly, aware that Ororo had come out of the blackbird and was slowly approaching them. “Cut the shit bub, we both know yer the one that stuck me in that damned hell hole.” He reached out, striking like a snake as he grabbed Forge by the collar and pulled him in close. “You betrayed me!” His hands tightened slowly, squeezing, choking the air out of Forge as he snarled in the man’s face. “I’ve killed friends fer doin’ what ya did; wanna know what I’m gonna do ta you?” He felt Ororo come up behind him, her presence blunting the worst of his rage. His promise to her suddenly floated to the forefront of his mind.
“Logan, please.” Her voice was quiet, soft carrying only between the two of them. There was no need to ask what she meant, they were both aware of what she was asking. For a moment, he toyed with breaking his word to her, killing the duplicitous bastard despite his promise. But doing it would wound her far more than Forge ever could and suddenly, he found the bastard just wasn’t worth it.
He sneered at the taller man, his voice tight and nearly a growl. “You get to live, cause of her.” He released the taller man and stepped back, feeling Ororo’s hand on his shoulder.
Forge reached up to rub his throat, sneering at Logan as he taunted him. “She’s got you on a short leash, don’t she?”
Logan stepped forward quickly, punching Forge hard in the gut. As the taller man bent over, gasping for breath, Logan grabbed him by the hair, pulling his head up to snarl in his face. “She asked me not ta kill ya; I ain’t got no problem bustin’ ya up instead.” He let Forge’s head drop as Ororo stepped forward.
He straightened to face her, his face set and expressionless. He met her eyes unflinchingly, the blue orbs like chips of ice in her face and the room glacial with her rage as it blanketed the entire room. Without warning, she slapped him hard across the face, the sound of the blow shockingly loud in the silent hangar.
She stood there as he simply accepted the blow, her breathing fast and ragged as her anger built. “Why Forge? How could you do this to him? To me? To us?” She waved her hands to indicate the others in the room, watching on in silence as Forge was called to answer for his crimes against one of their own.
Forge took a deep breath, as he stood up straighter. “They wanted him Ororo and they knew I could get him for them.” He reached up to rub his jaw where she slapped him.
Ororo looked at him in shock. “So you simply betrayed him? Betrayed me?”
“These aren’t people you can just say no to. They were willing to do anything to get him, even kill me.” He threw back, letting his own anger take control.
Ororo’s eyes blazed, slowly clouding over as in her rage, she reached out with her powers. “So you thought Logan’s life a fair trade for your own?” There was a warning rumble of thunder far overhead.
Forge looked nervous at the sound but pushed on. “What was I supposed to do? Tell them no? Let them kill me and have them come after him anyway? Would you be so willing to lay down your life for a complete stranger?”
She answered without thought or hesitation. “Yes because that is the right thing to do. That was the one thing about me you could never understand, my willingness to sacrifice my life for the greater good.”
Forge practically sneered at her. “What greater good? He’s an animal Ororo; a genetic anomaly that manages to walk and talk like a man, but he isn’t. And you’re deluding yourself if you think his life is anywhere equal to mine. I’m twice the man that he is; and at least in a civilized setting I can pass for one. I’m not some furry wannabe that managed to teach myself to walk on two legs.”
Ororo reacted without thought, striking quickly just like Logan taught her. Jabbing him hard once in the stomach to immobilize him and a second time in the face while he was helpless.
He stumbled backwards, clutching his nose, trying to stop the bleeding. “You bitch, you broke my nose.”
Logan smiled to himself knowing just why she’d aimed for his face; vanity. She stood there shaking with anger. “You bastard! You blithely walk in here to destroy my life and rip my heart out for a second time and you have the balls to insult him to my face!” Her snarl surprised everyone in the room
Forge stood there, pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to stop the bleeding and began laughing. “Sweetheart, you ain’t much better. I’d never have gotten Xavier or the others to go along with us going in alone if it hadn’t been for the fact that everyone thought I wanted you back. Did you really think I came back for you? Talk about balls, being so conceited as to think I’d give a damn about you once I left. Of course, what else does your kind ever think?”
He wiped some blood onto his pants, sniffling as the flow slowed to a trickle. “It was so entertaining watching all of you so off balance. Circling the wagons to keep me at bay and protect her at the same time. I never gave a shit about getting you back Ororo. You were just a smoke screen.” His smile was malicious and full of hatred as he threw the last statement at her.
Her face shocked, Ororo simply stood there for a moment before finding her voice. “So everything you said to me the night you came back was a lie?” He nodded. “Then why were you so against my relationship with him?”
Forge looked at her and spoke as if she were a child or mentally impaired. “It complicated things. I know you Ororo; you’re like a dog with a bone once your mind is made up. I might have been able to use that to distract you once I got here but I knew it would work against me if he simply disappeared. If there was even a chance he might come back, you’d never give up looking. I couldn’t risk it. You were supposed to leave him when you found out he was cheating on you!” The entire room went deathly still at those words and all eyes turned to Ororo.
Her voice was midnight dark. “How do you know about that? I told no one; no one. And as Jean was the only witness, I find it hard to believe you would have any knowledge of that.”
Logan spoke up behind her. “He knows cause he arranged it.”
Again Ororo was shocked to silence for a moment. “He what?”
“Come on ‘Ro, think.” Logan nodded his head in Forge’s direction. “Days after he arrives Jean supposedly sees me with another woman, my guess is that he knows a shapeshifter who owes him a favor. Someone who don’t mind what he asks ‘em ta do; maybe even Mystique for all we know.” He noticed Forge stiffen slightly and would have laid money that Mystique was indeed responsible for the scene Jean witnessed. But he let it slide as he continued his explanation.
“Whatever the story, the whole thing makes ya suspicious and we have a huge fight. He was countin’ on ya ta walk away but ya didn’t. He was tryin’ ta make it easier ta get me outta here and not have ya ask so many questions. If we split before I left, then me dyin’ from stupidity would make a lot of sense.” And it was something he might have done himself to a rival or an enemy if he thought about it.
Her eyes softened slightly as she recalled just why he was in town that day. “But he did not know the real reason you were in town that day, did not know that I would not buy that story.” Her eyes hardened again as she turned her attention back to Forge. “You set him up. You tried to make it look like he was unfaithful so when he disappeared no one would care. Do you even realize what you did? What I almost did?” Her voice rose in volume as she spoke and the final word was echoed by a loud peal of thunder overhead.
Forge looked at Logan. “I was doing you a favor. Given enough time, she’d have become a self righteous, stuck-up bitch. Who wants to live with that?”
Enraged, Logan attacked him again, punching him in the gut making the genius fall to his knees. Logan stood over him fighting the urge to beat the man to a bloody pulp. He could feel the beast inside him pushing him to further violence, urging him to maim the man, kill him, rip him apart. He was through playing games with the jackass, it was time to make him hurt!
Forge looked up at him, appearing to brace himself for the final blow. The look in his eyes gave Logan pause and not because Logan gave a damn. Instead it made Logan begin thinking. Forge was pushing him, digging at him, hoping to force Logan to lose control and kill him. Logan could feel it in his every word and gesture. And the only question Logan could think of was why?
Like lightning, it hit him. The reason for his strange and deadly behavior could be traced back to something he had said to Ororo just moments before. He told Ororo that the people he worked for were willing to kill him to get what they wanted. Maybe that’s what Forge was worried about, that when he reported back to his superiors, he would simply disappear. And given their level of anger at the loss of both their data and their lab, it wasn’t likely to be pretty. Faced with that possibility it made perfect sense that Forge would feel he had a choice to make.
So he chose to pick a fight with Logan instead with the insane hope that somehow his death at the feral mutants hands might be quicker and more humane than it would be in the hands of those he had failed. The truly sad part was that if Logan had not sworn an oath to Ororo, Forge probably would have had a chance at that fast quick death.
Logan reached down, dragging the other man to his feet only to slam him back against the wall, pinning him there with arm across his throat. He was dimly aware of the other X-men standing behind him, their tensions filling the air with a myriad of scents, all of them unaware of the epiphany he’d just gone through. But he pushed them all aside to concentrate on the man pinned to the wall.
He pitched his voice low, not wanting it to carry too far but kept it hard enough to get his message across. “Ya don’t learn do ya? Ya know I could gut ya right now and no one in this room would stop me. But I won’t cause she doesn’t think ya deserve it; not even after what ya did ta me. Besides, I think you’re in deeper shit bein’ alive than ya would be burnin’ in hell.
“But ya better keep somethin’ in mind before ya ever decide ta come back here askin’ fer our help, I could spend a lifetime filletin’ ya alive for every tear ya’ve caused her ta shed and it still wouldn’t be enough ta payback the pain ya’ve caused her. Ya were right about me Forge, I’m a killer a damned good one. And I’m also an animal, a real possessive one. I ain’t got no conscience about coming after ya later. Just lift yer head, even once above normal radar and ya’ll find me there ta chop it off.” As he spoke, Logan placed his right hand under Forge’s chin, letting the two outside claws slowly slide out of his forearm to frame either side of his face. As he reached the end of his speech, the third claw began unsheathing just as slowly, until it rested against the underside of the man’s chin.
Logan kept it there, letting Forge feel the pressure of it as it pierced the delicate skin there and a small drop of blood formed to drip down Logan’s claw. “Ya ever come back here, ya ever try ta hurt her again and I swear ta God, I’ll gut ya. There ain’t gonna be a thing she can say that’ll stop me neither. Cause ya only get one save with us and if ya come back all bets are off. Cause I know places even God don’t visit no more.” Disgusted he threw the man away from him and stepped back ignoring the roar of rage from the beast. It wanted the man dead for what was done to its mate; it wanted him broken and bleeding at his feet. But Logan was going to deny it and let the man go; because Ororo had asked. And at the moment, the beast was not happy with him but it relented.
Forge lay on the floor panting quietly as he looked at the other X-men standing around him. There was no sympathy to be found in that circle of faces and no hand offered to him as he managed to pull himself to his feet. He spared Ororo one final glance but found nothing but enraged goddess standing there.
“I suggest you leave Forge before I do something we shall both regret.” Around her the others stepped closer, the human wall more than a little intimidating.
Forge said nothing to anyone, he simply backed up and left the hangar. He would be gone within the hour. Xavier would see to that. Once he left, everyone in the room visibly relaxed. Scott was the first to step forward, embracing Ororo and welcoming Logan back with a solid cuff to the shoulders. A universally manly gesture that Logan was surprised to receive from the man. Joyous chaos ensured after that as the rest of the team suddenly entered the room and stepped forward to greet there once lost teammate.
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