The Necessary Changes…
Logan stubbed his cigar and entered the mansion. After Ororo told Alex and him about Project Freedom Force, he decided he really did need that beer. Orange juice just wasn’t going to cut it. So, he’d told her that he was going to Harry’s for a while. “Be careful,” she’d called after him. She always told him that. It didn’t matter if he was going out for a drink or just going to walk the grounds. Be careful. She said that to all of them, but hearing her say it reminded him that people actually cared what happened to him, that she cared what happened to him.
Tessa sashayed his way with that swagger in her hips that was too pronounced. It was the kind of walk that made you watch her leave the room without meaning to. She walked. You watched. It was the law of man. Yesterday, Kitty had pinched Piotr when he’d watched those hips leave the room. She was pretty in a dark, brooding way from the way she walked to the way her dark hair fell into her eyes. Even the scars, that resembled a dark trail of tears, under her eyes added to her appeal. He’d asked about them once, but she refused to tell him the story behind them. She only said someone punished her by scarring her face.
She did tell him a little about working as a spy for Charles. She’d infiltrated the Hellfire Club, been a personal consort to Sebastian Shaw until he decided she was expendable. Logan thought her overt sexuality might’ve been a result of her years in the Hellfire Club. The women in the Hellfire Club weren’t exactly known for being sweet, demure kittens. He’d heard some wild stories about those women. Spy or not, she would’ve had to learn to “behave” like a lady of the club in order to be trusted.
“Goin’ to stick yourself with pins, darlin’?” he asked. She was a cyberpath; her mind worked like a computer. She explained she had acupressure points that rebooted her mind. His response: Okay, yeah, whatever floats your boat, lady.
“No, I ‘m going to help Cecilia,” she said with a small smile.
“That’s it?” Before meeting her, he thought Ororo was the queen of multitasking. She didn’t have anything on Tessa. He’d watched Tessa dictate an oral report while playing chess while watching a video through one lens of these freaky glasses she’d created. If that wasn’t enough, she still had time to serve his ass back to him on a platter in the Danger Room. Bon appetite. He had enough trouble trying to walk and talk at the same time.
“Yes, I think Cecilia will keep me pretty busy in the lab.”
Logan almost snorted. Yeah, right. “She’s still in the lab?” he asked. She’d been in there since Ororo dismissed her late meeting.
“You know Cecilia.” Tessa shrugged.
“Yeah, I do.” Cecilia was always in the lab doing whatever it was she did when she holed herself up in there, probably rechecking reports she’d already checked a million times. She was meticulous, especially when it came to paperwork and procedure. She wasn’t much into missions. Not that they’d been on many since Alcatraz. She did go on one, though, and she freaked out so bad that she kept accidentally putting up her shield.
Okay, he might’ve had a hand in making her jumpy. He’d told her if she stuck around long enough, she’d find herself on the receiving end of neck traumas, abdomen traumas, impalements, concussions, altitude sicknesses, etcetera. He’d been joking… for the most part. She wasn’t supposed to take him serious, but that was Cecilia. All seriousness. No bullshit.
“In her defense, she has a good reason to be. She obtained a sample of the mutant cure from Alcatraz. One of her friends sent her a mutated strand of the cure for her to evaluate. Apparently, the cure was combined with a contagion,” she said as if he was supposed to know what that meant.
“Break it down, Tess.” He felt like this was leading up to another discussion he didn’t want to have. It was already bad enough that the CSA was on their asses for no good reason. Now, there was this Project Freedom Force shit. And he’d bet his whole life savings”well, if he had had any life savings”that this wasn’t going to be the bright side of his night, either.
“They introduced the cure into a contagious disease, and now the disease has mutated to accommodate the cure. It’s made it part of its makeup, warping it into something new altogether. Cecilia’s not sure if it’s harmful or not yet. She’s not even sure what the disease is. It’s not the flu or the common cold or even something like Ebola. Cecilia said she’s never seen anything like it.”
All he could think about was Marie. She’d taken the cure, and now she was telling him that it might be mutating into something harmful? She just wanted to be able to touch again, and now, there might be a chance she could get sick. If anything happened to Marie, somebody had better have their earthly business in order. “Have there been any reports of people gettin’ sick?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out. Cecilia mentioned it was funny they’d use a contagion with the cure instead of just making it a pure cure.” Tess started toward the elevator and Logan followed her.
“That is somethin’ to think about. She got any thoughts about why they might’ve done that?” he asked when they stopped a few feet short of the elevator.
Tessa nodded slowly, preparing herself for any reaction he might have. She’d hadn’t even known him a month, yet, but his temper was already the stuff of myths. She’d take him through it slow. No sense in overloading him. “She thinks at one point they might have thought about releasing it in the air.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” He shook his head.
“It does. Think about it, Logan. It’s possible they meant to try to cure us all instead of those who were willing. You need clearance to release something like the cure in its pure state into the air, though. Then, you have to let the population know what’s going on in case it makes people sick. Viruses mutate all the time, though,” she explained.
“An’ who’s to say that it couldn’t have just happened to mutate into a cure for mutations?” His blood roiled. Those sons-of-bitches. Cecilia was only giving a theory, but it sounded like a damn good theory to him. What other reason would they have for doing it?
“Right, and with the government already breathing down our necks, they must’ve considered this very seriously before deciding to go public with it instead,” she said.
“Why didn’t they release it?” That wasn’t what he meant to ask. She didn’t have a clue any more than he did. She was only the harbinger of this news. Someone thought they should know about this, though, since they sent Cecilia the mutated cure.
“We don’t know. I’m not sure I want to find out, either. Maybe they have something bigger in mind for us,” she said. She wasn’t convinced they’d really taken the option off the table. It was possible they still had plans to release it before Magneto interfered. They still might release it”mutated or not.
“Do you think Warren’s dad knew this?” He’d hate it if the kid had to find out that his dad funded a project that meant to force “normalcy” on them. Old man Worthington was many things, but he didn’t think he was malicious.
“Doubtful. Even if he did know about them using it alongside a contagion, he probably didn’t get the implication of that. I’m sure they didn’t expect it to mutate, anyway,” she said. Modern science”always looking for a cure for the wrong thing, always turning something into a really big mess.
“Have you told ‘Ro all this?”
“Just finished briefing her,” Tessa said. She walked toward the elevator and pressed the down button. She turned back to him just as he opened his mouth. “She’s in the rec room grading papers.”
“You readin’ my mind, Tess?” he asked.
“You know better, Logan. There’s no way I could pick your mind. My telepathy isn’t strong enough to handle you. Some things I just know.” She laughed knowingly as she boarded the elevator.
“What d’ya think you know, anyway?” he retorted, even though Tessa was long gone. Know-it-all.
He found Ororo in the rec room, just as Tessa said, sitting on the floor behind the coffee table. This was a change from her usual setting in her office where she’d stay hunched over papers until the wee hours of the morning. Her hand was a fury of motion as the red ink from her pen bled across the page of the paper she wrote on. Soft music poured from the stereo speakers while the skritch scratch of her writing harmonized with the melody.
“Hello, Logan,” she said without looking up. She pulled another page from the small stack to her left seemingly without breaking her furious writing.
“How’d you know it was me?” he asked. He sat next to her, looking at the small stack of papers she’d already gone through”History reports. Their knees bumped slightly when he sat Indian-style just like she did. He watched her cut the corner of her eyes at him, but she didn’t protest. He’d never really invaded her personal space like this before. Didn’t know why he was doing it now, either. Maybe because sometimes he thought he needed to be close to her because she was one of the very few constants in his life right now.
He still wasn’t sure how he felt about this constant upheaval. His life had never been a linear deal, but it had been much simpler before coming to the mansion. Once upon a time, he only had himself to care about. Whatever consequences stemmed from his actions only effected him in those days. Now, people depended on him, put hope in him, trusted him. It was intimidating. He wanted to hang on to his selfishness, but found it harder each day.
“By your smell.” She saw him quirk his eyebrows at her. Her face warmed. That hadn’t come out quite right. “You brought the smell of the outdoors and cigar smoke in with you, I mean. And you know how it is when a new smell takes over. You notice it.” Then, she pressed her lips together before she could make a bigger fool of herself.
He wanted to tell her that she smelled like sandalwood and the earth after a rainstorm, refreshing and calming, but she turned back to her papers abruptly. The moment was gone. She brushed her two-toned, monochrome hair behind her ears, and he watched her pulse throb in the graceful curve of her neck. She was nervous, so he tried to steer the conversation to safer waters. “Tessa told me about the cure sample.”
She shook her head, disgusted. She placed her pen on the table and looked at him with stormy eyes. “I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised about it, but I am. In this perceived mutant-human war, after everything I’ve seen and gone through, you’d think I know better than to believe they have boundaries.”
“It just goes to show you believe that people are inherently good.” It was better than believing everyone was out to get you as he did. He hadn’t even trusted them when he first met them. Everyone had an angle in his opinion. The fact that she could still believe in the good in people showed that Charles had taught them well.
“Maybe it isn’t doing me much good. I can’t hope to run this school effectively when I’m harboring my own false sense of security.” How was she supposed to keep the children safe when she still fell for such surprises?
“Don’t give up on that. Keep on believin’ in that good. Because once you stop believin’ in it, you’ll feel like nothin’ is worth fightin’ for anymore.” She rewarded him with one of her soft, inviting smiles. For a brief moment, he entertained the thought of pressing his lips to hers.
“You’re right, but it’s hard trying to remain positive. I want to believe that this world can be a better place.” She felt lost, though she tried to keep a strong face. She questioned herself every day.
“It can be. It seems bleak now, but we’re all here to help you keep the Professor’s dream goin’.”
She could do this. She had to do this. No, they could do this. She had to stop thinking of this as something she was facing alone. Logan words reminded her that there people standing behind her. They fought together to achieve this dream. “And I am appreciative of…” Her words trailed where she found herself trying to put some spatial distance between Logan and her. Too close. He was too close. And when had this happened? She searched his eyes for meaning as her blood rushed. Even though something told her to just lean in, she was pulling back into herself both mentally and physically. She jumped when she heard Alex clear his throat from the doorway, but she was grateful for the distraction.
Alex graced them with a rascally look as he walked into the room. He’d witnessed the near-kiss between his two friends. Ororo clammed up, but he’d been silently rooting for Logan to kiss her, anyway. Maybe if he’d come into the room singing, “Sha-la-la-la-la-la, don’t be scared. You got the mood prepared. Go on and kiss the girl,” things would’ve been much different. What was he thinking? He had to stop watching those sappy Disney movies with the girls, but damn, he loved munching on popcorn, stifling a sniffle, while watching The Little Mermaid with Nina. She was five and a half and never getting married because boys were icky, and she was the only who really understood him.
He walked toward the two at the table. “Amandrai. Lorna used to love this song. May I have this dance?” Alex asked with a bow, holding his hand out to Ororo.
“I have too many papers to grade,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’m behind.”
“Aw, O, it’s just one dance. You used to love dancing. We could never get you to stop.” And she would dance wherever she felt the mood hit her. The dancing was one the first things that stopped after that first mission.
“But we were much younger, then, and there was plenty to dance about.”
“You need a reason to dance?” he asked, tapping his chin. “I’m here. That’s reason enough to dance.”
“Just one, Alex,” Ororo laughed, slipping her hand into his. She walked around the table and tumbled into a slow, ham-fisted two-step with Alex. Alex seemed to step on her toes in time to the beat of the song. “You’re still a horrible dancer.”
Logan didn’t say anything as the two danced, but a tinge of jealousy soured his mood. Nothing in their dance hinted at them feeling anything more than friendship, admiration, and mutual respect for each other. She was always at ease when Alex was around. He entered the room and she beamed. He could only equate it to the way Jean made him feel. But that wasn’t quite right because they weren’t interested in each other romantically. He was still learning to understand the complexity of relationships. He’d distanced himself from much of that all these years, feeling it was better to stay in touch with base emotions. That’s all he ever felt he needed to get by.
He had never shared that intimacy with Ororo, didn’t know if he ever would. He didn’t think she wholly trusted him. Oh, she said she trusted him enough, but she still held him at arm’s length most of the time. He thought she might’ve resented him on some level. He didn’t know if was because of the wedge he tried to drive between her two best friends or if it was the fact that he’d chosen Jean and overlooked her. Or maybe it was for some other personal reason. Those few shared moments earlier were the closest he’d ever gotten to her without her resisting him.
“Hey, I dance better than Scott does… did… oh hell…” He trailed off. The acrid scent of mixed hurt filled the air before Alex plummeted ahead. “But my singing voice has improved,” he joked. They laughed as he turned her in a clumsy spin. “I’m sorry, O. I didn’t get much time to work on my dancing while braving the wilds.”
“It’s okay. I don’t dance much anymore, anyway, so I can’t be complain too much. Thank you for the dance, anyway, Mr. Summers,” she said, patting Alex’s cheek amiably. “What was it you were looking for out there?”
“Everything. Nothing. I guess I was just looking for peace, especially after Lorna…”
Logan’d heard mention of Lorna before, had seen her in a picture with Jean and Ororo that both of them kept at their bedside. They were at the beach in their teeny-weeny bikinis holding these big tropical flowers and wearing the biggest, dopiest grins he’d ever seen. Jean was grinning so hard her eyes were closed. Jean explained they’d gone to Hawaii for a couple of weeks some years back before shit started getting bad with Magneto. When he asked about the green-haired woman, Lorna, Jean simply sighed as if she needed the last of her breath to utter her next words, “She’s dead.” Ororo tried to give Alex Jean’s copy of the photo. He wouldn’t take it.
“You could’ve come home.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. The two stepped back, broke apart and rejoined Logan on the floor. The mood in the room dampened considerably. Ororo took a seat next to Alex, thinking it’d be safer all things considered.
“I wasn’t ready. I loved it out there. It was just me and my ol’ buddy, the iPod, but I should’ve come back before. Maybe things would’ve been different.” He’d needed the time alone. He hadn’t been ready to face their pitying stares or listen to their apologies. He’d felt directionless, completely lost, without Lorna.
“Don’t blame yourself for Scott,” Logan said. He didn’t know if he believed everything happened for a reason, but he might believe that some things you were useless to stop. What happened with Jean and Scott was one of those things, he believed.
“Can’t help it, Lo. He was my brother. He always looked after me. Why couldn’t I have been here the one time he needed me?” Alex said with a hard edge in his tone.
“We didn’t even know how to get in contact with you, and everything started moving so fast once we found Jean.” She didn’t want to see her friend beating himself up over this.
“But that doesn’t matter. He was my brother. I knew something was wrong. I felt it. I should’ve stayed after Jean’s funeral instead of taking off.” Alex beat a hand to his chest in tandem with his words.
“What could you have done? He loved Jean too much. You couldn’t have stopped her from calling to him. You couldn’t have stopped him from going to her. Wouldn’t you have done the same thing if the roles were reversed?” Ororo said. Her voice was warmed honey, soothing and motherly.
“But I’m the rash one. I’m expected to do things without thinking. Scott was supposed to be the rational one.”
“What is rational when it comes to someone you love?” she asked. She tugged a tuff of his hair. “I think Lorna would’ve liked your hair this color.” She knew she was changing the subject. She had to change the subject for all of them. They weren’t ready to broach on this territory.
“We could’ve been a matching set, his and hers,” he chuckled with a faint smile. Then, a mental intrusion drove his smile from his face.
Help me.
This was not good, Cecilia decided, not good at all. She still hadn’t identified the disease in the sample. That worried her, but not as much as what she’d just learned about the cure. She took her glasses off and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She was tired. She’d been working on this almost nonstop since the sample arrived from Miami. She didn’t like this. She didn’t like it one bit.
She wished she’d never heard of a mutant cure. She hadn’t been against the cure because of what it promised. She was against the cure because of the unknowns that could complicate it. A possibility for miscalculation, no matter how small, was still a possibility. And goddamn if she wasn’t staring at the granddaddy of them all.
The doors to the lab opened with a barely audible “shoosh,” and the soft sound of footsteps entered the room. Cecilia turned away from the desk to face her visitor. “The mutated virus is bonding to the X-gene,” Cecilia told Tessa. No need to tiptoe around it. She handed Tessa a report she’d compiled.
Tessa flipped through the report, her eyes widening as the information settled in her brain. “Am I reading this right? The virus is pushing the gene toward evolution? But no one’s reported evolved mutations or even the reemergence of their mutation.” Her heart felt like metal in her chest as she met Cecilia’s eyes. She hoped her friend’s reports were wrong, but Cecilia was too thorough, too careful, to make such a large error.
“That we know of.” Cecilia said, pulling her thick hair back. She pulled a scrunchie from her wrist and wrapped it around her hair. She pushed her glasses back to her face. She took the report from Tessa and threw it on the desk where it landed with a thud.
“Yes, but we even have evidence. Marie’s powers have been suppressed efficiently.” Tessa watched Cecilia take a seat at the desk.
“True, but Marie’s just one case. And what if that’s only because the virus needs time to bond with its host’s DNA? We’re not talking about enhancers. We’re talking about changing a person’s DNA completely. Depending on individual makeup, that could be a quick change or a slow change.” Then again, she would expect fluctuations in powers while this was taking place, but that’s where the cure played a large role. There were no instabilities being observed because these mutants thought they were “cured.”
“What if that isn’t the case, though? What if it doesn’t cause powers to resurface by bonding with the mutant DNA?” Tessa asked. She couldn’t move as a million variables rolled through her head. None of them were particularly hopeful.
“Then, I would say it’s waiting for something. Maybe there’s something else that needs to be introduced into the body. I just don’t believe that it’s going to remain dormant. Even if it did, what would this new mutation of the X-gene mean for future generations of mutants?” Mutants who received the cure would pass on this new gene to their children, and in the event the cure did keep them from exhibiting new powers or regaining their old powers, their children wouldn’t have this luxury.
“They could be more power than we’ve ever witnessed.” And all of them wouldn’t fight for Charles’ dream. The next Magneto could have the cure restructuring his powers into something terrifying.
“And they may have powers stacked on top of powers.” Cecilia shuddered at the thought. There were already mutants who possessed multiple abilities relating to their mutation, but this could go beyond anything they could ever dream. “This might allow mutants to really use the full range of their powers despite any self-imposed blocks.”
“But are they ready for this next step?” Tessa asked, sitting in one of the cold, metal chairs nearest to the desk.
“Well, I think it just depends on the mutant. This could force evolution on hosts who may not be ready for it. Their bodies may not be able to sustain this new level of power. They’d be forced into a survival mode. In that respect, the virus might weed out those who aren’t fit to handle it.” Cecilia laced her fingers in front of her.
“You mean it might kill them,” Tessa said. Cecilia nodded at her grimly. “Wouldn’t some mutant supremacists argue that this forced evolution might be the necessary next step toward homo superior taking their rightful place despite that? Let the weak perish. Let the strong inherit the earth and all that.”
“I’m sure they would. Evolution doesn’t come without a price, but I don’t think this is the way nature intended it. I’m a woman of science, but even I know that science has no right to force nature’s hand.” She worried more. Thousands of mutants took the cure, and they weren’t warned about the contagion that was introduced into their bodies.
“Do you think this virus is highly contagious?”
“If that’s your roundabout way of asking if I think Marie is going to infect us all, then, I don’t know. There’s no evidence to show that she will or has. Maybe once this mutated cure has entered its host and bonded with their DNA, it has to be spread through more aggressive means than simply breathing it in. Maybe you have to come in contact with the host’s blood. Don’t quote me on that. We’re all still fully powered. None of the children have shown any unusual deviances in their power. Nothing beyond the norm, anyway. I haven’t noticed anything abnormal in my own powers. You?” Cecilia paused.
Tessa shook her head hastily.
Cecilia continued. “I’m still not sure what this virus is or if the true intent was to release it airborne. They could’ve released it in the water or even the food, and we would’ve never known. I haven’t observed any strange illnesses among the children. Marie doesn’t seem to be sick. If we are infected, why haven’t our powers stopped? The cure is still part of the virus’s makeup as well.”
“That’s a good question. No side effects would be the point, though, if they’d meant to somehow introduce this through one of the means you mentioned. A bunch of mutants start getting sick and people are going to notice. Have you stopped to consider that maybe they didn’t plan to cure us at all?”
“You think someone is trying to push us toward evolution? I can’t say whether I agree or disagree at this point. On one hand, maybe they didn’t expect the cure and the contagion to mutate and do exactly the opposite of what it was intended to do. On the other hand, it’s quite possible that someone meant for this to happen as some kind of mutant supremacist attack. It’s a sticky situation.”
“We’re better safe than sorry. I want you to take a DNA sample from me. A blood sample won’t hurt either,” Tessa said, rolling up her sleeve. She was sure once they spoke to Ororo, Alex, and Logan, they’d be willing to do the same. “You might want to do the same for yourself.”
Cecilia stood slowly from her seat. “I’ll take a few oral swabs. I’ll need you to rinse your mouth out. Use plain water,” Cecilia said, rummaging through one of the cabinets for a swab kit.
Tessa walked over to the small sink and swished her mouth thoroughly. She walked back to her chair and watched as Cecilia scrawled her name across an envelope. She was nervous, and she never got nervous often”her logical brain wouldn’t allow it. There was always some solution to the problem no matter how impossible. This virus had the potential to empower the mutant race while laying waste to those who couldn’t handle its forced changes. Should they all get it, where would that leave the children? Where would it leave any of them? The snap of Cecilia’s glove called her attention.
“Say ahh,” she said. She rubbed the swab across Tessa’s cheeks and gums briskly, making sure to saturate it on all sides. She took ten samples. More than enough to analyze Tessa’s DNA. She sealed the envelope before taking her gloves off and putting on a new pair.
“What are you going to tell Marie?” Tessa asked as Cecilia secured a tourniquet to her upper arm.
“I hate to scare her.” Cecilia rubbed her fingers over a burgeoning vein in the crease of her elbow. She cleaned her intended injection site with an alcohol pad. “But I can’t let her walk around her ignorant, either.” How fair was it that the girl had gotten rid of one indefinite only to have another forced on her because she wanted to be normal?
“Wait,” Tessa said, holding up her hand, as Cecilia prepared to press the needle to her vein. Cecilia paused with a questioning look. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
Tessa closed her eyes for a moment, trying to listen for that faint voice she’d heard. She knew she’d heard it muddled and murky in her mind, the soft plea that rebounded through her mental halls.
Help me.
Author’s notes: Yeah, I took a REALLY LONG hiatus from fandom and the internet in general. I went through some things, and I had to put fandom on the backburner for a while among other things. But guess who’s back? I started writing this story before the Wolverine movie came out, and some things in future chapters will conflict with that movie. So, I’m just choosing to ignore that movie.
