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It takes twenty-seven straight hours but Logan gets to it. He stands before the building on the other side of the locked fence with the sign that says Alkali Transigen. It doesn’t take much to put his claws through the outside guard’s throats and steal one of their badges.
A few more stabs with his claws and he’s walking down the hallway in a lab coat with his head down as he passes by other workers. He makes two turns and grabs the first nurse that he sees, tells her his plan, and she nods; scared but eager to help the children.
He makes his move and the buzzer sounds. The doors unlock and the children run free from their cells and attack any guard that gets in their way. He lets the nurse go on her way but not before letting his claws go free and asking, “Where is the girl that has claws like these?” The nurse tells him in broken English and he’s off.
He hears Laura before he sees her. She’s grunting, growling, and screaming as she stabs a guard in the chest and when she senses his presence she lets the dying guard fall to the ground and turns around to glare at him. She’s panting hard, ready to attack, and before she does Logan lets his own claws out and says, “I’m gonna get you out of here, kid.”
She stares and then runs and Logan grabs her by the arm as she goes past him and guides her the correct way. They pass a girl electrocuting one of the doctors as they turn a corner. They’re almost free, ignoring a boy fighting with a guard, until the guard lets out a loud scream and his arm is engulfed in flames. Arm burning, the guard gets out one last hit as his taser slams into the boy’s side. He lets out a yell and falls to the floor. Laura stops, recognizes the boy, and pulls towards him. Logan’s got her tight in his grip and she starts kicking.
“We need to go,” he tells her and she slices him in the arm. He hisses and lets go of her. She runs to the boy and pulls his leg to try and get him out of the building. The guard near him remains on fire.
“Jesus Christ,” he growls, and then, “Alright, I’ll get the fucking kid.” He picks the kid - although he’s really a teenager - up. His is face looking down and Logan can’t get a good look at him. Logan yells at Laura to follow. They run and make it to the truck and he shoves the kid onto the seat after Laura’s inside. The kid groans and rolls over on the seat. Logan finally can finally see his face.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he exclaims. He stares at the kid in shock and confusion.
Logan slams the door shut and gets into the driver seat, hitting the gas pedal hard, and getting far away from the Alkali Transigen building all while wondering what the hell John Allerdyce is doing in the backseat of the truck.
He drives for most of the day.
Laura doesn’t make a sound. She switches between staring out the window, staring at John, and staring at Logan.
John (and Logan has to look at him through the rearview mirror again because he still can’t believe that the kid is with him) stays lying down. He's gripping his side and falling in and out of consciousness.
It’s when John starts coughing violently that he says to hell with the drive and pulls off at the next exit that has a sign for a motel. He gets a room in the back of the motel where no one can see him walking with a child wearing bloody clothes and a teenager who can barely walk.
He shoves the keys into Laura’s hand. “Open the door,” he grunts and pulls John up when the kid starts to fall to the ground. He guides him to the bed and John groans when the softness of the bed cover hits his skin.
He pulls John up so his head is resting on a pillow. He starts coughing and moaning while clutching his side and he sighs and starts to roll up John’s shirt. Laura stands at the window and watches.
He lets out a growl when John’s bruised skin is exposed. His side is a dark blue and purple, and yet Logan can still sees the cuts in his skin where something had sliced the skin open. He pulls up John’s shirt more when the kid realizes what’s happening and fights through the pain to struggle against Logan.
“Relax,” he says, but John doesn’t stop moving. His skin starts getting hot to the touch and Logan hisses when his hand feels like it's getting burned. “RELAX!” he yells this time and John freezes. He lets out a groan and Logan slowly pulls the shirt up over John’s head and throws it to the floor. The rest of the kid’s body doesn’t look any better. Cuts and bruises litter his chest and continue on around his body and onto his back. He’s been cut open all over the place.
Logan has been able to control his anger as he looks over John’s body but then something behind John’s ear catches his eye. He leans over and turns John’s head so his cheek is resting against the pillow. He stares at what’s written in tiny ink. X33-57. He curses to himself and looks up at Laura who returns the stare.
“Do you have one?” he asks and the girl doesn’t answer. He moves towards her quickly, and catches her as she tries to run towards the bathroom. She yells and starts kicking again but Logan’s grip is strong and he pushes her down towards the bed and pulls her hair to the side, looking behind one ear and then other until he sees it. X23-23.
He lets go of Laura and she glares at him before going and joining John on the bed. He goes to the bathroom and slams the door shut and then yells, punching the wall next to it.
What the hell had happened these past two years? John was supposed to have been with Magneto. That’s what the kid wanted wasn’t it? He wanted to join the brotherhood and to be some badass Brotherhood leader that he thought Magneto was. Except here he was in a motel in the middle of rural Texas, beat to hell and experimented on with the ink to prove it.
Did the X-Men know what had happened to their former student? Had Charles known?
Logan growls again at the thought of the professor and punches the wall again. What the fuck had he gotten himself into?
When he exits the bathroom he sees that Laura has turned the TV on. She hasn’t moved from John’s side and sits against the headrest as she switches through the channels.
Logan sits down on the second bed.
“Do you know his name?” he asks and Laura doesn’t stops pushing the buttons on the remote as she nods.
“John,” Logan states finally saying his name out loud. Laura nods again.
“Did you see him there?” He questions and gets a third nod from Laura. Then he asks, “How long was he there?”
Laura scrunches her face and looks away from the TV as if she’s thinking. Then she looks at Logan and holds up all five fingers. Logan thinks that can’t be right because John was still at the mansion five years ago. Unless…
“How old are you?” he asks and Laura holds up seven fingers.
“So he got there when you were five?” he asks and Laura nods. The math adds up and Logan quietly says, “Fuck.”
That means the kid never went to the Brotherhood. Never got to Magneto.
He stands up and looks at Laura. “He’s gonna need medicine,” he says and leaves her and John.
Outside the air is hot and he has a good view of their motel room to see if Laura tries to sneak out. He takes his cell phone out of his pocket and turns it on, going through the numbers until he find’s the one that he wants to call.
He’s disappointed when Scott answers on Jean’s phone. He says that Jean’s currently in class but is eager to hear how Logan’s search went.
“Found her,” he replies.
“The girl? Does she have the claws?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you bringing her back to the mansion?”
“Guess so,” he says, and Scott tells him that’s a good idea. Scott doesn’t ask if there’s anyone one else with him and Logan figures he doesn’t know to ask.
He hangs up and goes to the motel’s office. He asks where the nearest pharmacy is and gets medicine. Then he goes to another store to get new clothes. He gets back and enters the room where John is now awake, his eyes watching as Logan goes through the door and closes it.
They look at each other until John whispers, “So it wasn’t a dream.”
“No,” Logan grunts. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”
John laughs and then regrets it, a pained look forming on his face. “Don’t think I need to explain much,” he gasps, “You can just look at me.”
Logan throws the medicine on the bed.
“Get him water,” he tells Laura.
While she’s filling up a cup with water Logan sits on the second bed again. “What happened to going off with Magneto?” he questions and John groans and closes his eyes.
“Hey!” he yells, shaking John. “I’m taking her to the mansion,” he informs John, “and that means you’re going back, too. You might as well start talking now because you’re gonna have to talk eventually.”
Laura returns with the water and John’s face of defiance turns warm. He lets out a small smile as Laura takes out pills and hands them to John along with the water.
“Thanks,” he whispers and Laura gives a smile back in return.
He swallows the pill and drinks the water and then closes his eyes again. “Maybe tomorrow,” he says to Logan who growls in return.
The day turns into night and Laura gets under the covers next to John. She stares at him as she lies and gently moves her finger down his arm before closing her eyes.
Logan sleeps too. That is until a scream wakes him up and his claws extend, ready for danger. There’s no one in the room though. It's just him, a whimpering seven year old, and John. He's sitting up even though it hurts and has his arms around Laura, trying to hush her and calm her.
It works. Laura’s whimpers fade away and she falls back to sleep. John ignores his stare and lies back down. He watches as he fades off to a light doze. He groans and twitches, never fully falling asleep. Logan wonders when the last time either of them slept without fear.
He awakes the second time to the TV on again and Laura sitting up. She looks at Logan and then her stomach makes a noise of hunger. She looks down at her stomach and then up at Logan again.
“I guess you’re hungry,” he says and Laura nods. He points to the bag on the dresser. “Clothes. Go change.”
Laura gets out of the bed and takes the clothes into the bathroom. Logan gets up and stretches. John’s eyes are closed but he’s still twitching. He puts a hand on John's bare shoulder and the kid’s eyes shoot open as he gasps. He removes his hands and holds them up in surrender.
“It’s just me, kid.”
John sighs. “Don’t touch me,” he then groans as he slowly sits up. He takes more pills and drinks the rest of his water.
Laura finally exits the bathroom. “There are clothes in the bag,” he instructs. John nods, “Cool.”
“You need help with the shower?” he asks and John gives him a glare. “I’m not a kid,” he mumbles, nodding towards Laura. He slams the bathroom door shut. A few minutes later Logan can hear the shower running.
When he eventually comes out he goes and sits on the bed next to Laura. They both turn to him with a look of what’s next?
“Food would be nice,” he says and Laura nods her head up and down. She gets up and stands at the door. He gives her the okay and she opens it and walks over to the truck. John follows and Logan is behind him. He notices that John still walks stiff and slow as he hides his pain. He hisses as he gets himself in the truck.
Logan snorts. Experimentation hasn’t changed him one bit. That or the painkillers are kicking in again. “When you wanna stop being stubborn let me know,” he tells him and John gives him the finger as Logan shuts the truck door.
The diner is quiet and there’s no one seated around them. Logan is on one side of the booth, Laura and John the other. Their waitress is nice. She's cute with a southern drawl and smiles when Laura points at things on the menu and John says it out loud to the waitress.
Logan orders coffee. John gets pancakes with eggs and Laura gets the kids menu version of that. She digs in and stuffs her face with eggs. Logan leans over the table and hands her a fork.
“Slow down,” he instructs and Laura keeps her eyes on him for a second before returning to her meal.
John eats slowly but Logan can tell he’s in heaven. He savors the pancakes and dumps syrup all over them. He lets out a moan of pleasure as he eats a piece.
“Taste as good as the breakfast at the mansion?” he asks and John stops eating. The waitress comes back and asks how the food is.
“Delicious,” he says and Laura smiles at her.
John doesn’t eat the rest of his food. Logan tells him he’ll stop talking about the mansion but John just looks away and stares out the window. Laura senses his anger when she finishes her chocolate milk and pulls at John’s sleeve. She frowns when he ignores her too and sits up on her knees, leaning towards John. She pushes his cheek with her finger and when that doesn’t get a response she opens her palm and starts hitting him with it. John gives in and looks over at her. They have a silent conversation and then John sighs and says, “I’m fine.”
They hit the road again. Hours go by in silence except from the country songs playing on the radio. Logan drives until it’s dark and then pulls into another motel. Laura stays silent, John stays obnoxious and distant about what happened to him, and it’s a weird little routine they’ve fallen into. They leave at sunrise and drive through day. Logan think’s they’ll get to the mansion by the early morning.
In the afternoon he pulls off into a gas station. Laura looks ahead and her eyes widen. He needs gas, Laura keeps hitting his arm and pointing to the horse ride in front of the convenient store, and John is asleep once again.
“Hold on!” He growls as Laura’s hits get rougher. “You need change,” he informs her and opens the glove compartment to search around. John stays still in place. His head is resting against the window and he’s not even twitching. The kid must be exhausted. He can feel Laura’s eyes on him as he pulls four quarters out of the compartment. He opens the door and gets out. He waits for Laura to do the same.
She looks at him for a moment and then turns her head to look at John.
“Let him sleep,” he says but Laura keeps staring. Her eyes are longing for John to come with.
He sighs. “If I wake him up he’ll probably blow the whole goddamn gas station up.”
Laura stays in place for a few more seconds before getting out of the car and running over to the horse. She stares up at Logan and gives him a silent demand to start the ride. Logan puts the coins in and the horse starts moving.
“I’ll be in the bathroom,” he tells her and she nods.
The bathroom mirror is dirty and he wipes at it with his hand. He watches as it reveals the tired reflection staring back at him. He turns on the water and runs his hand through it before splashing and cleaning his face. He pees, washes his hands, and goes back out to the front to get Laura back in the car.
He hears a growl as he exits the bathroom and looks up.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” He runs over to where Laura is sitting on top of the store clerk. Her claws are out and her eyes are glaring.
“Hey!” He yells. He grabs her arm and lifts her off the young man. “None of that.” He pulls her towards the car and ignores the man shouting that they need to pay.
He opens the door to shove Laura in the truck and curses again when he finds John staring at them with his eyebrows raised.
“Everything okay?” He smirks and Laura scoots close to him and holds out the Pringles she stole.
“Yummy,” John says shoving chips in his mouth. “Cute sunglasses,” he tells Laura and a smile forms on her face.
Logan starts the truck and his claws almost come out when John smirks again and tells him, “But I gotta pee!”
“Too late,” he grunts and heads towards the highway.
John rolls his eyes and leans forward to change the radio station but stops as soon as Logan’s hand has a grip around his wrist. “Don’t test me, kid,” he warns and John yanks his wrist free from Logan’s grip. “Chill out, old man,” he says and then takes another handful of Laura’s chips.
“So those painkillers are definitely working,” He says as he gets on the highway.
“That and an actual nap,” John shrugs. “How far do we have to go?”
“Should be there early morning if we don’t stop." Suddenly there’s a jerk as a car next to them tries to steer them into the next lane. They slam into a car in that lane and John crashes into the headboard, groaning. Laura starts whimpering.
He slows down and the car puts on their blinkers and pulls over. The man takes out his phone and holds it up as if taking a picture of their license plate. Logan debates with himself for a minute and then pulls over as well.
A man and a woman get out of the car with a look of concern on their face.
“I saw everything” the woman cries as she runs up to Logan. “There was an SUV speeding up next to you like crazy and then tried to run you off. Are you alright?”
He nods and then looks back at the truck. The passenger door is open and John and Laura stare at them. John’s nose is bleeding and the woman gasps.
“Is the truck okay?” The man asks. “Why don’t you follow us back to our house? We live off the next exit.”
“It’s alright,” He grunts but the couple keep looking at the kids in concern. He sighs. “Yeah, alright. We’ll follow you.”
They drive to an old farmhouse. “Let me make you guys something to eat while my husband checks your son’s nose,” the woman suggests.
Laura helps her set the table and Logan watches as her husband looks at John. The kid keeps flinching away from his touch. “He’s probably just shook up about the crash,” he lies. The man nods and apologizes about the situation they are in. They go downstairs to the kitchen and John’s eyes light up at the food spread out on the table. They dig in and the couple asks where they’re heading.
“New York. They go to a nice boarding school there. They are real special and have lots of talent.” he explains.
The woman smiles, “You must be so proud of them,” she says. He nods and John has to hide his laugh as he feels his glare on him.
“You’ll get there faster if you keep driving tonight but why don’t you take a rest? I’m sure that truck of yours needs a rest too.”
“It’s fine,” he reassures them but then Laura gives out a nice big fake yawn and the woman shakes her head. “We’ve got a guestroom for the kids. You can take the couch. Really, it’s no trouble.”
He groans but says, “Thank you. We appreciate it.”
They help clean up when the man groans and goes off about the water being shut off again. “Gotta go outside. Our neighbors aren’t to too friendly,” he tells Logan, who then volunteers to help when he sees the man taking out a gun for precaution.
The SUV sneaks up as the men fix the water. Logan sees it as the house comes into view again as they’re walking back. “Neighbors?” he asks and the man shakes his head, confused.
Everything happens at once. A scream, the smell of fire, and smoke through the windows. “Susanne?” The man yells and runs towards the house but a gun then goes off and a bullet hits him in the leg. He crawls to the open front door and gasps as he sees his wife’s body on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. He hears another scream and watches as a man drags Laura out of the house, heavy manacles wrapped around the child’s wrists and ankles.
Another man comes out dragging John, bound in the same way. There is a gun near his head which has blood running down the side. He's conscious, but dizzy. Logan walks up as the kids are dropped on the lawn.
“Logan,” a voice calls out from behind him. “Thank you for leading us to them. I don’t like when someone takes what’s mine.”
“Who are you?” he growls.
“Dr. Zander Rice,” the man responds as he steps towards John and Laura. He nods towards the soldier who has the grip on John and drags him up from the ground, pushing the gun hard against his head.
“You certainty have good taste in the weapons you decided to steal,” Dr. Rice observes as he stares at the kids.
“They’re not weapons,” he says.
“I disagree,” Dr. Rice shrugs. “Some were made from powerful mutants that already existed,” he gestures towards Laura. “Others we enhanced,” he mused, looking at John who in return spit at him.
“I’ve seen the scars,” he howls. “You tortured children.”
“It’s a price we have to pay for perfection,” Dr. Rice says. He looks at Laura. “We made her powerful, deadly. Just like her father,” Dr. Rice taunts, staring Logan straight in the eye.
“And John?"
“We got lucky,” Dr. Rice laughs. “The destruction of Alkali Lake brought something good with it. Such a shame he felt the need to run away from that school of his. If only they knew the power he possessed.”
Dr. Rice looks at his watch. “Well we must be going now,” he says and then turns to his men. “Deal with him,” he instructs and takes the gun from one of the men. He keeps it aimed at John’s head. The men step forward and Dr. Rice takes John who shuts his eyes, shaking. His skin becomes hot again and Dr. Rice sighs. "No," he says and takes a syringe out from his pocket and sticks it in John's neck who blinks rapidly. He tries not to lose consciousness as Laura screams again and the man holding her leads them behind Dr. Rice towards the SUV.
Logan charges at the men and his claws extend. He growls and slices as blood spills onto the ground. More men jump out of the SUV and Logan continues his rampage. They are just as strong as him (enhanced as Dr. Rice would say) and he takes blows to every part of his body but the men still pile up around him. Dr. Rice is still standing there with John in his grip. His eyes are open but dazed.
The gun is still against John's head. “One more step and he’s dead,” Dr. Rice warns and John’s eyes plead with him as he's still aware of what's going on. It’s the first time in a long time that he looks like a scared teenager because he is. He’s eighteen and he’s been through hell but no matter how tough he thinks he is he’s still scared inside.
A gun goes off and Logan jerks out of his thoughts. Laura screams from her position in the SUV. She's growling and trying to move.
Dr. Rice is kneeling on the ground in pain. He lets go of John who falls next to him. Logan looks past them towards the house and the man in the doorway shakes as he holds the gun and then collapses on the floor next to his dead wife.
Logan grabs Dr. Rice by the shirt. He knocks the gun out of his hand and extends his claws right into the man’s throat. He retrieves Laura and slices through her and John’s manacles. He gets them into the truck and drives. He hits the steering wheel as he does so and then takes out his cell phone.
“Why haven’t they come?” He yells to no one in particular. “Aren’t they supposed to know when shit’s going down? Why didn’t they come for us? Why didn’t they come for you?” Logan screams at John.
The kid stares at him and then looks the other way at the window.
“Of course,” He growls. “Join in on the fucking silent treatment,” and he’s not surprised when he doesn’t get a reaction from John.
He drives fast into the night lost in his own thoughts. It’s awhile before he hears John whisper, “There’s a chip.”
He looks over at Logan who returns the glance.
“It’s implanted somewhere in us. They didn’t want the professor to be able to use Cerebo and find us.”
“That would have been nice to know,” he scoffs. John shrugs. “You found us anyway. Guess I thought it wasn’t important.”
“You were definitely wrong there, kid,” he replies, "You both also probably have a tracker from Rice which lead him to us." He groans, hitting the steering wheel. John looks down at Laura who is curled up against his side, asleep.
“I heard an engine,” John says. “Back at Alkali Lake. I thought it was Magneto. I did plan on joining him, but it wasn’t his jet. I was weak and really freaking cold. All it took was one hit to the head and I was out. I woke up in a cage on Dr. Rice’s jet. Felt drugged. Was drugged. I realized I was screwed and told them that the professor would find out what happened and would look for me. They just laughed and said that by the time they figure out something’s wrong there will be no trace of me.”
“And they took you to Alkali Transigen,” Logan concludes.
“I thought about you,” John chuckles. “I never thought about mutant experiments until you showed up at the mansion and I thought well this what it must feel like to be the Wolverine. To be sliced up and put back together again.” John laughs bitterly, “Then I thought about how I missed Summers and his stupid math classes.”
“You must have really be in hell that time,” he smirks but then turns serious again and asks, “How much interaction did you get with the kids.”
John shrugs. “They isolated me a lot but sometimes I’d get out. Went to a couple birthday parties.”
Logan raises his eyebrows. “And Laura?”
“She was their favorite. Violent. Needed to be isolated too,” he explains and then whispers, “Our cells were across from each other. I saw her a lot.”
It's quiet. Then, “Neither of you deserve what happened to you,” he tells him. John looks away. “Neither did you,” he whispers to Logan.
The silence continues again for hours.
They make it to Westchester a little after sunrise. Logan parks at the end of the long driveway. Laura has woken and is staring at the mansion, eyes wide and mouth open.
“You ready?” Logan asks. He doesn’t look at John but the kid knows that he’s the one being asked.
“Bobby still there?”
He nods. “Rogue, too.”
“They think I’m a traitor,” John sighs.
“You’re not, though.”
John looks away and Logan leans over. He grabs him by the jaw and forcing him to look in his eyes. “You’re a victim, John. We are all.” Logan starts the truck up again and drives up to the mansion and to the X-Men; safety from the past, from the present, from the pain.
Their own personal Eden.