In the Storm’s Wake (Part Two)
Charles sat in his chair holding the kitchen door open as he peered in from the hallway. A concerned frown etched his face as he surveyed the abandoned breakfast, which had been laid out and then left abandoned. It appeared that the X-Men had been interrupted during their morning meal. He let the door close silently into place as he backed his chair into the hall.
‘X-Men? This is Professor Xavier, can anyone hear me?’ he asked, projecting the thought in search of his students. Immediately he heard Dr. McCoy answer.
‘Yes, Professor, we can hear you. Perhaps you should meet us in the lab.’
Xavier met with the X-Men in Dr. McCoy’s lab and Hank relayed the morning’s dramatic events to him. Charles checked on Remy’s condition and recounted the details of the dream he’d had and explained why he believed it hadn’t been a dream at all. Ororo stood in the doorway listening quietly, still trying to get the sleepiness to lift from her eyes. She rubbed her fingertips across one eye then swept a strand of loose hair from her face.
As Charles finished the story of his own experience she stepped into the room with her arms wrapped around her waist. She looked exhausted and Charles asked how she was doing. She nodded politely trying to give him a smile as she walked toward the bed where Gambit lay recovering. As she passed behind the professor’s chair her eyes caught sight of something peculiar. She paused in step and frowned, then turned to look again. She walked slowly up behind him staring at the back of his robe. "Charles… what is this?" she asked, her voice low and not quite awake yet. Charles peered at her over his shoulder.
"What is what?" he asked even as Scott moved forward and came around behind him to see what she was looking at.
"This," she stated, her tone rising slightly with concern. She used one hand to gently push him forward in the chair and touched her fingers to the back of his robe. As Scott stood next to her looking on his forehead creased in serious question echoing Ororo’s _expression. As Ororo pulled her hand away, Scott also reached forward to brush a finger against the professor’s back and looked at his fingertip. Ororo looked from her hand to Scott’s finger then raised her eyes to Scott’s.
"It’s blood," she said quietly and Scott nodded. "Charles, are you injured?" she asked in urgency, coming around in front of his chair to inspect him for wounds.
"No," he replied and seeing her concern he took her by the arms to stop her harried inspection. "Ororo, I assure you, I am not injured," he said. She looked at him not understanding and raised her hand to show him the blood. Charles looked at it for a moment, thinking.
"It’s all over the back of your robe," she told him, her sleepy mind still not registering. Charles pulled his hands away from her arms and looked at them. They were smeared with now-drying blood. "Charles?" Ororo said looking at his hands, the professor began to comprehend where the blood came from and looked up at Hank.
"It’s Logan’s," he stated simply. "I felt it in the ‘dream’, I thought it was perspiration. This is Logan’s blood." Ororo immediately stood up, pushing away from his chair and ran from the room. She was followed closely by Hank, Scott and the professor. "The rest of you, stay here," Charles instructed the X-Men as he exited the lab. They nodded, then looked at one another in silence.
Ororo ran into the darkened infirmary and straight to Logan’s bed. Scott came in right behind her and slowed in the middle of the room waiting for the lights to come up. Dr. McCoy snapped on the light switch as he entered. He strode passed Scott to Logan’s bedside as Charles wheeled into the room behind him.
Ororo checked to see if he was still asleep and was running her hand through Logan’s hair as Hank came up on the other side of the bed. They looked at each other and Ororo sighed in relief to find that Logan was okay. Hank looked down at the bed and grabbed the edge of the bedding which had been drawn up across Logan’s chest. With another glance at Ororo he pulled the bed linen down toward Logan’s feet. Ororo looked down and covered her mouth with her hands to try to silence the loud gasp she drew in.
The crisp white hospital sheets were covered in blood, which was still flowing slowly, but steadily, from puncture wounds between Logan’s knuckles. It was quite obvious by the gaping holes in his flesh that he’d protracted his claws while under sedation. Hank grabbed some dressings and bandages and proceeded to try to control the bleeding. Raising Logan’s left hand off the bed, he tossed the bandaging material toward Ororo’s side and Scott came over to assist her.
"Take the collar off," Ororo told Hank and he shook his head.
"If we remove the collar the sedative will be pushed from his system. He needs more time," Hank told her.
"He needs his healing factor," 'Ro stated sternly as Hank and Scott packed Logan’s hands in sterile dressings.
"What he needs is rest. We can handle this," Hank refuted as he finished securing the bandage around Logan’s hand.
"Remove the collar," Ororo repeated, emphasizing each word. Hearing the anger in her voice, Hank looked up at her with a serious _expression.
"Ororo…" Hank began to say.
"Remove it… or I will," she said, staring at McCoy with unquestionable determination in her bright blue eyes. She’d vowed to keep Logan safe, to earn his trust, and to never be swayed from what she believed to be in his best interest… ever again, and she intended to keep that promise. As they stared at each other Hank could feel the hair on his body bristling with the static building up in the air around him. The others were not quite as sensitive to it, but they could also feel the electricity in the air.
Charles guided his chair to the foot of the bed and looked from one to the other. Ororo was determined to have it her way. Her feelings for Logan were stronger than even he’d realized and when Ororo’s emotions got out of control, or were uncontrollable, bad things happened… and people got hurt. But Professor Xavier also felt a strong need to have Logan brought out of sedation. He wanted to assess Wolverine’s behavior. He needed the chance to understand what Logan was going through and to try to reason with him and calm him down.
Charles believed that it was the very strength of the sedative that was the reason Logan was able to reach out with his mind and come to him in his sleep. The potent serum had worked to relax Logan’s consciousness - which was the obvious intent - but he believed the incredible strength of the sedative continued to work even afterward to successfully relax - and drop - Wolverine’s psi-blocks. Allowing the trapped and frightened child within him to seek out Xavier’s help... which was something Logan could never bring himself to do. But ‘the darkness’ dwelling within him – which they referred to as ‘the animal’ - held Logan close to it, protecting him from all outside threats and often battling Logan himself for control of his mind and body. And it refused to let Logan escape from its protection.
Instead, it had indulged the needs of the ‘inner child’ by pulling Xavier’s psyche into its realm - in order to keep the child from trying to escape - when it realized the psychic barriers had been dropped. It allowed the ‘child-Logan’ to make contact and seek comfort… if only for a short period of time. But when Xavier had offered his protection and love, and the ‘child-Logan’ accepted his offer, the dark entity reared up to take jealous possession of the boy again.
'Incredible,’ the professor remarked silently. He realized now that the psychic blocks Logan possessed – just like his claws - were not put in place by the Weapon X scientists as they’d all believed. The government most likely helped to strengthen them to a certain degree but, as far as Charles was concerned, they’re time and effort was wasted in vain. For it was obvious to him now that Logan had actually been born with these psychic blocks already in place. Nature had made him undetectable by telepaths - impervious to psychic probes and manipulation. He was a being created for absolute stealth, born to be the most efficient predator the animal kingdom had ever seen.
His predatory instincts and bestial rage - partnered with inhuman agility, grace, speed and strength, not to mention large claws and teeth – and combined with the exceptional cunning and intelligence of the man, was what made Logan perhaps the deadliest mutant on the face of the earth. Now add a healing factor to the entire package and what you have is ‘a ferocious, blood thirsty, killing machine that is virtually unstoppable’. That was the reason he’d been pursued and hunted by so many government factions. It was also the reason that Logan and his ‘gifts’ were coveted so vehemently by the more ‘evil forces’ of the world... like Sinister, Magneto and… Apocalypse.
When Apocalypse captured Logan years ago - and turned him into one of his ‘Four Horsemen’, known as Death – he’d been a true force to be reckoned with. Brainwashed to do his master’s bidding, which was to cause death, he was an exceptionally skilled adversary. He was ruthless and without mercy or conscience and the X-Men barely survived the challenge of stopping him.
The only thing that stopped the Wolverine/Death from wreaking havoc across the face of the earth and tearing humanity to shreds was Logan’s determination and strength of will to ‘remain human’. The absolute strength and perseverance it must’ve taken for Logan to battle the beast at every turn – with every breath – was unimaginable. It would be so much easier for him to just give in to it and accept it … like Sabretooth did. But Logan wanted more for himself. He didn’t just accept who and what he was or what he so easily could become just by letting go. He fought hard every day to be better than what nature intended. And if nature felt the need to see how the world would fair - with such a creature in it – then let Storm’s goddess be praised for having put the weight of this burden upon a man like Logan… and not Victor Creed.
For Creed would’ve embraced such power without hesitation. Instead, he mocked Logan with every breath, with every beat of his heart and condemned him for ‘taking his true gift for granted’. Sabertooth laughed at Logan’s ‘cowardice’, believing he was afraid to use his ‘true power’ to the fullest and that such power was ‘wasted on the weak’. It’s funny, really, when you think about it. Creed accused him of being weak for not tapping into the Wolverine’s true potential… and the X-Men admonished him for being weak when he did ‘tap into’ the ‘berserker rage’ in battle against their enemies. In truth, Charles realized with a new found pride in his student, Logan was stronger than any of them ever gave him credit for.
Xavier had tried to fend off the darkness himself and the ‘battle’ barely lasted a few moments. And not only did he lose his hold on the ‘child’, but was ejected from Logan’s mind with such a force that he’d dare compare himself during the experience to being no more than an insect slammed against the windshield of a speeding car. It was quite apparent that Logan did not receive the proper credit for the battle he waged against himself everyday.
They’d always been quick to admonish him for his unruly behavior and uncontrollable temper when, in fact, they should’ve been lending support and encouragement for the days he was able to hold the animal at bay. It was also obvious to Charles now that ‘Project:Weapon X’ was hardly the success that the military, the scientists or the government proclaimed it to be. They’d taken the credit for turning nature’s most superior hunter into a ‘super-soldier’. They’d also taken the credit for turning the man, known only as Logan, into the animal-like Wolverine. And then, they went beyond that, to turn Wolverine into the mindless assassin known and feared throughout the world as Weapon X.
But that was the only thing they really could take credit for. Well, that… and the adamantium-laced skeleton Wolverine now possessed. In fact, Charles discerned that the only thing they really – honestly - could take credit for was the monumental physical and psychological abuse, and torture, of an already tortured soul. Their brutal methods were merely an attempt to break him down - to break his spirit - so they could build him up again into the mindless creature they wanted him to become.
But in the end, Logan proved to be even stronger than any of them had ever imagined. Beaten, starved, tortured and humiliated in the most deviant experiments any human being could conjure up… not just once, but many times… even physically altered against his will… and the man still fought back. Psychologically stunned, emotionally numb and in the greatest physical pain no other creature would ever experience… and the animal still fought back. It not only survived… but broke free of its chains and took its revenge on those who’d taken their freedom, their memories, their dignity and their humanity. The man and the animal – together – survived and overcame all possible odds.
Because of his gifts; his heightened senses, tracking abilities, retractable claws, fighting ability, healing factor and predatory instincts - Logan’d spent his entire life being treated like an animal. No, that wasn’t entirely true. Humans had put laws into place to protect animals from such cruelties. They marched and protested such atrocities committed against ‘helpless animals’ in the name of science. There were never any laws put into place to protect mutants from such cruelties. There were no laws, then or now, that could’ve or would’ve protected Logan from such unimaginable brutality. The only laws that could’ve protected him… the only law that would’ve saved him… did. Because when all was said and done, it came down to survival of the fittest… and that is the very law of nature.
Logan… Wolverine… Weapon X…whatever name you wish to put upon him… was a true force of nature, a powerful force of nature. Whose very power was held in check only by the man’s resolve to keep it in check. Charles shook his head as he came to a decision.
"Dr. McCoy…" Charles said softly. "Would you remove the collar please?"
Hank and Ororo both turned to look at him. Ororo’s anger began to ebb with the support from Professor Xavier and she looked back at Hank with a sense of hope, but Dr. McCoy only blinked in surprise. They had worked so hard to get Logan under control and now he was supposed to just let him go?
"Professor…" he started to say, but Charles pulled his gaze away from Logan and looked at McCoy with a gentle smile on his lips.
"Henry," the professor said quietly, "remove the collar please." Then he turned to Scott with a request. "Would you ask Remy to join us?"
TBC in "In the Storm’s Wake, part three"
