Surprise For A Feral

History Comes Alive

Logan closed the door to his room quietly behind him and made a beeline for Charles' office. His silence earlier had left Logan uneasy after the exploration of K's old memories. Charles' voice beckoned him to enter as he reached the door. He was sitting behind his desk, his back to the approaching Wolverine as he looked out the window.

"What troubles you, Logan?" Charles asked as Logan walked up and leaned on the bookshelf near his desk.

"What do you think, Chuck? You didn't say a word after pokin' around in her head. What's your take?" Logan asked as he watched him closely. Charles let out a heavy sigh and turned to face his old friend.

"Everything they did to her was accelerated substantially from the pace they used with you, wasn't it?" he asked, his voice sounding tired.

Logan nodded. "Sure looked like it. From what I remember, they only did one or two tests at a time then threw me back in to heal. Took them months to do to me what it seems they did to her in what? A few weeks? Why'd they push her so hard?" Logan grumbled, anger coming off of him in waves. "And the radiation poisoning? That's new," he spat, disgusted.

"Yes, they were testing her for a purpose beyond simple weapon, I'm sure of it. But I don't understand the push. What had they planned for her?" Charles mused, fingers tented as he thought.

"We gotta shut 'em down, Charlie. I know you don't want to be a part of it, but it's just gonna be a matter of time before Creed shows up – lookin' for her or me, and when he does, he'll tip them off in a heartbeat," Logan said, his tone determined.

Charles nodded in agreement. "It's a risk, yes. But it's one I'm afraid I agree we may have to take. K will be their primary target, but I doubt that they would pass up the chance to retrieve you if the opportunity was ripe, not to mention the temptation of nearly every other resident here," Charles said, watching Logan's reaction.

"I'll talk to Cap. See if we can get them to get a little intel for us. May even want to lend a hand if he meets her," Logan said, pulling out a cell phone. Charles nodded, waiting to hear the verdict. When the call ended Logan's met Charles' gaze. He said it out loud, though Charles already knew the answer. "Cap'll be here in a couple days. He's starting the intel search. With luck, we may get the Avengers on our side here. That program was supposed to be shut down years ago," Logan said.

"You know it wasn't, Logan," Charles said gently. "You know my concerns there. Losing the investment they had in you set them back significantly, but you were a technical success to them. The failure was their inability to keep you under their thumb."

Logan shifted and nodded as he looked down at his hands. He knew Charles was right, even if he didn't want to think about it that way. As Logan turned to walk out, Charles called out to him again. "Be sure that you fill in Scott on everything, please. He'll want to come up with a plan with Captain America."

"Sure, Chuck. "First thing in the mornin'," Logan answered. There just wasn't anything else that could be said at that point. Not without more information.

Charles was of course, concerned for all of their safety, but he couldn't help but wonder about Creed. Something the others had glossed over was his gentle touch when she was severely injured. He pondered it for a long while once he was alone. Was it the manner of how she'd gotten so severely ill that had Creed so uncharacteristically careful with her, or was it something more? It was alarming how clearly the psychotic mutant had a soft spot for the little woman. He tried to mull over Creeds contradictions, but soon found himself having to abandon the possible meanings.

He was sure Logan either hadn't picked up on it, or was so outraged at how they'd treated her, he had canceled it out in his mind seeing how vicious he'd gotten when Creed had suspected a link to Logan. But Charles had to admit, whatever kindness she'd received before, it was going to be all bets off when Creed discovered her current relationship with Logan.