Chance Encounter - Wolverine/X-Men Fanfic

Chapter 19: They want me to be the Wolverine? They fuckin' well got it.

"Your psyche is a very fractured jumble, Logan. Picking particular thoughts out of the maelstrom is difficult at best. There's no possible way that I can link times or names to the events that you've experienced, but there does seem to be a pattern to some of it."

Logan eyed the Professor as the man continued, "You appear to have been part of a rather unusual experiment. As to what this particular experiment was supposed to address, I cannot say for sure. What I can tell you is that you have a rather impressive collection of mental snippets of soldiers, men in very officious looking lab coats and what appear to be one or two business men."

Max felt logan tense beside her and she gently rested a hand on his leg.

"Any of it explain 'Wolverine'?" Logan grunted, his jaw tightening.

"The two things that seem most prominent are the surface concepts of Weapon X and Wolverine. I have noticed that the soldiers seem to utilize the latter, whereas the men in white coats use the former in reference to you."

Max murmured, "An insulting nickname, perhaps?"

Professor X raise an eyebrow, his tone mild."Hardly. Although the Wolverine may be diminutive in size, it is capable of killing animals as large as reindeer or moose. Perhaps they meant it to be ironic."

"Military boys ain't exactly known for their brains, Chuck." Logan muttered.

"May I see the tag again?"

Xavier extended his hand and Max dropped the metal tag and chain into his palm. He turned it over, peering at the name.

The professor fingered the tag absently as he said, "The appearance and feel of the facility seems to vary, but the majority of the images seem to involve some sort of tank full of fluid."

Logan felt his body jerk again in response to the professor's words. He was suddenly surrounded by liquid, and the images around him were distorted, almost like those in a circus funhouse mirror. The weight of the water, or whatever the hell it was, was immediately oppressive and he struggled for breath. Muffled, excited voices echoed through the liquid, but he couldn't make out what was being said.

A sharp jolt rang through his nervous system and he screamed, feeling his mouth fill up with water.

Logan bolted out of the chair, breathing heavily. Max was instantly at his side as Xavier murmured, "Another flashback?"

"Yeah."

The words came out in a croak as Logan rubbed at his temple.

Max looked over at the Professor and said, "How long has he been having these episodes?"

Logan tried to control his breathing as Xavier replied, "It's difficult to say. I've been witness to about three of them since the two of you initially arrived. Are his dreams improving? Does he still have the nightmares?"

"Not when she's with me." Logan coughed, relaxing as he slowly regained control of his breathing.

Max peered over at him and asked, "Why is that?"

Logan shook his head, his tone soft. "Damned if I know."

"How bad have these nightmares become in the past, Logan?"

The Professor leaned forward, placing the tag on the desk before him.

"Bad enough that I stopped being around people while I was sleepin'. Otherwise, lots of property damage and blood followed."

Logan locked eyes with Xavier, wanting to challenge his reasoning for letting him stay. To him, it didn't make any sense. He was obviously dangerous, even with Max here.

"Then it would seem that a new rule needs to be established to keep this from happening." Xavier turned to face Max, his tone formal as he said, "You'll need to stay with him when he sleeps."

Max nodded and replied, "Yeah. I kinda figured."

Logan frowned and she quickly added, "Not that it's an odious task, or anything."

He let out a weak laugh, then addressed the Professor. "The Wolverine..Did you get the feeling that those military boys were scared of it?"

Xavier nodded, his expression grim. "Oh very much, I think. In order to disarm a fear, you have to destroy it. Humiliate it. Rend the bogeyman asunder, so to speak. It explains their actions towards you the last time they had you in captivity, but by no means excuses them."

"Good." Logan growled, collecting the tag from the desk and hanging it around his neck.

"They want me to be the Wolverine? They fuckin' well got it. I'm done playing tag with these pricks."

"I believe that most of the men responsible perished in the facility explosion." Xavier explained.

Logan's answering smile was not pleasant.

"Maybe I'll get lucky."

Professor Xavier leaned forward and said, "Logan, I can understand your desire for retribution, but at the moment it is completely non-directed. I don't have anything substantive to give you. Allow me to make a few calls, to see what else I can find before you act."

Logan thought about it for a moment, then his eyes narrowed. "You seem like a straight shooter, Chuck. One that don't much like the idea of people gettin' killed. Why are you willing to help me with this?"

Xavier leaned back in his chair, his tone soft as he replied, "Because if this is what I think it is, men like this won't stop with you. They'll find other test subjects."

His expression darkened as he continued, "Other mutants will endure what they've put you through."

Logan grunted, "Can't shake hands with the Devil and expect to come away clean, Charlie."

"I'm well aware of that." Xavier replied, his expression closing down. "Wolverine."

Max watched the interaction between the two men, frowning. Something was changing here.

"I'll get back to you once I have something." Xavier murmured, pulling a stack of papers over.

He began to leaf through them and Max realized that they'd been dismissed.

Logan turned and began walking towards the door, and Max moved to follow, giving a last glace back over at Xavier. The man looked up at her briefly, his mouth in a tight line.

"You comin'?" Logan asked her.

Max slipped out the door with him.

MARVEL owns the copyright on their own characters, but I've fussed with and taken liberties with canon, and Max is my own creation.