Lone Wolves
by Jemisard

Fandom: X-Men movie verse
Pairing: None
Rating: M
Status: New, Complete
Series/Sequel: Lost Past 5
Disclaimers: They aren't mine. You know that. I'm just borrowing them.
Thanks:ERIKA, light of my life, who inspires, writes and pushes when I need a push to keep me going. I wouldn't have kept this going without you. Also, Katarina, Nadja and Hayate, who are continual sources of strength and inspiration, whether you know it or not.
Summary:Two sides race to find a missing person. Which one will find him first?
Warnings:Adult themes, violence.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't know where he is."

Mr Walker stared into Charles' eyes. "I don't believe you, Professor, and neither will a court of law. Now, you can tell us where you've hidden WMM-311276, and we will go, or we can search every inch of the mansion and its grounds, cause considerable stress on your students and create unwanted media attention to the same end. Which will it be?"

Charles wanted to grab the man's mind and twist it until it didn't exist, but he knew better. "His name is not WMM-311276, it is Scott Summers. I do not know where he is. He left the property shortly after you left. You scared him off, I'd say. He saw you, and decided to leave, before there was any trouble."

"Ran like a frightened animal, you mean." Mr Walked sneered.

Ororo's eyes glazed over white, and the sky rumbled overhead as her temper grasped hold. Lightning crackled around and heavy rain began to hammer the mansion.

Ororo, please try to control that, Charles thought to her.

Try to hit the bastard's car, Jean added vehemently.

Jean, Charles added warningly. He turned back to Mr Walker. "You will need to obtain a warrant before I will let you on these grounds. No one here knows where he is, but he is not on these grounds. I am going to ask you this the once. Please leave, and do not return. If you do, I shall call the police."

Mr Walker slammed a file down. "He is our property, and we demand his return. We have all the legal documentation you would require here. There is no dispute, we own him. He is stolen property. I order you, with the power I have been given as an officer of the World United Countries Defence Organization, to hand him over."

"And I tell you, I do not know where he is, nor does any one else here. Leave, now!"

Mr Walker slammed his briefcase shut. "You will hear from our lawyers this afternoon. We will find him."

"And I will see you in court before I let you take him. Get out!"

Mr Walker spun on his heel and stalked out, while alarmed students looked out of the rooms and down the hall.

Ororo glanced at them both. "I hope that Logan finds him soon, before they do."

Jean looked at Charles and sniffed slightly. "Can he really take Scott from us?"

"I don't know Jean." Charles let his head rest in his hands. There seemed to be a lot that he didn't know lately.

Logan sniffed again and stretched. He was having a hard time out here, far harder than he would have thought. Hunting a blind man should be easy, but it was proving to be one of the most difficult hunts he'd ever done.

Not bad for a blind man.

Hell, not bad for anyone.

Logan sat down and pulled open his canteen. He swished it around his mouth briefly, considering the terrain. The kid knew the place, he'd instinctively go to the most defensible area. So where was that.

The mountains were further up. Hard area, not much food, too cold for the most of it.

The forest had plenty of game, but it was undefensible.

There was quarry nearby. Several in fact. Close enough to game to be practical, yet sheltered enough to hide him. And the hard surfaces would make him extremely tough to track for most people.

Except Logan.

With a grin, he stood up and adjusted his backpack, before loping off to the quarries.

Logan paused and looked over the vast expanses of broken rock and smooth cliff faces made by years of plundering the area for its stone.

With a gentle sniff, Logan quickly assessed the area. No people had been here for a while, except one. A soft, lightly spicy smell, covered by the sharper tangs of sweat and fear.

Scott.

His eyes narrowed, and the instincts took over. Logan was gone, leaving the Wolverine to hunt down its prey.

He silently moved into the quarry and paced along the broken piles of stone. There were faint noises from birds, insects, even small animals like rats, but nothing larger.

Logan sat down and took in the area again. He had to find him as quickly as possible, they might be out here hunting him already.

A slight noise to his left startled him. He spun around, claws out, with a snarl, only to freeze.

Crouched up on the rocks, a pair of eyes were reflected in the growing darkness of the foul weather and setting sun. The eyes were of no predator he had ever seen, but were positioned forwards on the skull, like a,

Like a human's.

"Scott?"

Slight movement. The figure came into view. Clothes slightly torn and quite muddy, hair slick in the rain. The eyes continued to appear a faint red, the glow barely noticeable.

Logan frowned. "Scott? Where's yer glasses?"

No answer again, but he moved his head slightly, as though listening to something. Logan tried to hear it, but whatever the younger man listened for wasn't there.

"Scott, yer scared the crap outta everyone. Come home."

Scott crept forwards, using his hands partly as feet, partly to grasp the rocks. He frowned and mouthed the words, and Logan had a sudden thought.

This was the Scott that Chuck had found, back in Scotland, ten years ago. The man here wasn't the man he knew.

This was like Wolverine was to him. This was another, deeper buried, baser part of Scott that had no idea what the hell was going on, and certainly didn't have the presence of mind to understand language.

Logan let the Wolverine take over. It was this part that Chuck, Jean and Ororo could never understand. It was the part of both of them that been created by years of suffering and confusion. Two personalities, sharing one mind, one memory, one body, so alike as to be the same person but so different at the same time. Their baser instincts became manifested very clearly as another, separate, uncontrollable being, one that the human rationale couldn't always dictate actions to.

It was the Wolverine in Logan, that sometimes demanded action that the human couldn't do. The Wolverine only wanted to survive and escape unharmed, and it would do things Logan might have balked at to do so.

Likewise, this was the part of Scott that had come forth. A part that had forced his human consciousness to shut down, to let the body be driven by need rather than thought.

The part that was dangerous and unpredictable.

The part like Wolverine.

Logan took a deep breath. He didn't know how people coped when he lost it, it was always a little fuzzy in his mind.

Chuck had suggested it was a secondary personality. How did you explain something so ingrained as to be part of you, yet so different, to someone who didn't have it?

Scott was still watching him, but he didn't seem alarmed by Logan, more curious of the other man. He leant forwards and mouthed something, which Logan didn't understand.

"Slim? Yer scared everyone. Ya should come home now."

Scott mimicked the words and grinned. He patted his arm, leant forwards and patted Logan's in the same place, before turning and scurrying back through the rocks.

Logan hurried to catch up with the retreating figure.

Logan followed Scott into a cave set in the side of the quarry, hidden away from sight but the broken slabs of rock piled outside of it. He took off his backpack, eyes swiftly adjusting to the darker light.

Scott watched him suspiciously, eyes narrowed, the glow more pronounced, but still faint. Logan watched him back silently, as he moved around the cave, pulling out wood and leaves that had been used as bedding at a guess.

"Scott?"

Head snapped around to face him. Scott's eyes were fearful almost. Logan moved forwards. "Calm down, bub, I ain't gonna hurt ya."

Scott stilled as Logan got near, letting the older man's hand gently stroke his shoulder. "How come you can control yer blasts?"

Shrug like action, vague movements. Logan frowned. "Yer fine, ain't ya? Well, not fine, but yer wakin' up from yer little animal episode. I can tell, slim."

"I don't know how I'm doing it." Scott turned to face him. "But I'm not lying. I remember you, just, I know that I work with you, your name is Wolverine. I also know your other name. WMM-061000. I don't know how I know that, Logan, but I know it."

Logan heard the slight tremble in the voice. "You were hunting me then."

Logan didn't have time to react before Scott was dashing past him and out of the cave.

Logan took off after the quickly escaping Scott, watching the lithe body twist to pass through the areas that Logan's bulk wouldn't fit into.

Logan jumped over the areas, trying to catch up to Scott. He knew the area, it was obvious, the way he was moving so confidently through the quarry was the evidence of that.

Logan threw himself forwards and stopped. He was overlooking a cliff, with a deep pool of water at the bottom. He saw Scott disappearing down the side, more agile than a monkey. He paused and looked up at Logan, and his eyes flashed a brighter red.

Logan threw himself forwards as the beam hit the ground underneath him. He was tumbling towards the water, so he tucked himself up and prayed this wouldn't hurt too much.

Okay, it hurt, but it could have been worse. The water closed over his head and he pushed upwards as hard as he could, trying to break the surface. After an eternity, his head broke the surface. He gasped air and looked around.

Scott had just hit the ground and was staring at Logan, stunned. He shook his head and tore off into the undergrowth.

Logan swam to the edge and clambered out, chasing after Scott again. He knew that he could get him, even if he had to just wear him down to do so.

They ran for maybe fifteen minutes. Logan kept tabs on the area, and on Scott, who moved far too silently, and with too little disturbance, to be the novice at this that Charles had claimed he was.

Endurance won out. Logan caught up to his fleeing quarry and jumped, landing on top of the younger man. Scott hit the ground with a grunt, trying to line up Logan for a shot.

Logan clapped his hand over Scott's eyes. "Bub, ya listen. I ain't here to hurt ya. I dunno what yer talkin' about with this weird arse number crap, but I'm here ter help ya. Chuck is terrified fer ya, ya understand that? And now, there's some guys huntin' ya, from some organization, and they claim ter own ya. We gotta hide, 'cause they're after ya, and they want ya back bad for some reason."

Scott stilled. "You aren't going to turn me in to save yourself?"

"I dunno what ya mean there."

"You were there. They put us together, to try and 'socialize' me. I remember it all. They treated me, it was terrible. I was an animal to them, nothing more. And you, they treated you the same. Don't you remember?"

Logan sat back and shook his head. "No."

"It's true." Scott twisted. "You were there. So was Kurt. You remember Kurt? He was blue, with a long tail."

A flash came to his mind. Two boys, trying to reach other through the bars of the their cells. One was a dark blue, he was trying to grasp the pale hand of the boy with midnight blue eyes.

"Yes," he whispered. "I remember him. BMM-150280."

"No, Kurt." Scott pushed Logan off his chest. "He was called Kurt." Scott brushed himself off a bit. "He was in the cell next to you. I remember it, for the first time ten year I'm remembering things."

"Wish I could say the same." Logan stared at the demon red eyes. "So, yer willin' ter trust me?"

"No. But I don't distrust you either." Scott closed his eyes and leant his head back. "God, I've missed this."

"What?"

"Colour. The beautiful colours." He turned and looked at Logan. "You look so different in colour. That's how come I remember you now. I couldn't remember it in red."

Logan frowned, silent, as Scott stood up and stretched. He could hear something, and it wasn't a good noise. Scott yawned. "We can hide at the quarry, they won't get us there."

"I don't need yer help, bub."

"You do. You'll be caught if you go back." He looked Logan in the eye. "And I can't hold them off on my own. We need to work together."

"Shut up fer a minute." Logan cocked his head. "Shit, they're here."

Scott's eyes went wide with panic. "You lead them here!"

"I didn't!"

"Your fucking skeleton, they can trace it!" Scott turned and bolted into the forest, the human rationale disappearing again under the need to survive.

Logan debated following but stopped. If Scott was right, and he generally knew more about these things than Logan did, they would catch both them if he followed. Instead, he headed West, hoping that Scott was right this time, and they wouldn't find the young man they sought.

Logan stumbled back to the mansion, tired and shocked. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the memories that Scott had turned up in his mind.

He saw helicopters, and men with dogs. The students were standing around, scared, while Ororo and Jean tried to calm them. He saw the Professor arguing with several men, while an armored car drove up nearby.

His hearing tuned in to hear what was being said.

"We don't know where he is, and while you may have permission to search the grounds, you will leave my students alone. I hear one complaint, and I will have you arrested before you can think twice."

"And I warn you, Professor. If I find him hiding in this mansion, you will be facing a long time in prison."

"Don't threaten me, Mr Walker."

Logan strolled up and grinned at Walker nastily. "What's the fuss about, Chuck?"

"These men have a warrant to search the mansion and its grounds for Scott."

"Scott? What's he done?" Logan decided to play ignorant as to what Chuck had told him about the lab, and what Scott himself had told him.

"Nothing. These thugs have decided that they own him. I want you to go and help Jean and Ororo with the children, they're terrified by the fuss these idiots are making."

Logan nodded and went over to the children, searching out Rogue in the mess. She ran over to him and hugged him, sobbing against his jacket. He smoothed down her hair and kissed the top of her head awkwardly, watching Jean and Ororo try to calm the students.

Kitty ran over and latched herself onto Logan's other side. He blushed, but didn't move her, deciding that she needed someone to hold her for a while.

Students, please follow Jean into the ball room. There are sleeping bags and pillows set out for everyone, and if you need to go anywhere, please find one of the adults first and tell them.

Jean took them back into the mansion, with Logan bringing up the rear to make sure everyone got inside.

It was in the very early in the morning when they heard the yells outside. Logan was asleep by the widow, so he was the first awake when the lights shone through and the men were yelling through their radios.

He looked outside, aware of Ororo moving up next to him. They saw the armored van pull up, followed by an envoy of jeeps.

A sole jeep pulled up and the men inside jumped out. They were dragging a struggling and screaming figure with them, one that fought against their grasps and tried to make a run for it.

Logan could see the heavy tape that held the deadly eyes shut, and watched as the terrified young man tried to run away, only to be struck and brought down.

Ororo held his shoulder, tears running down her face, while Logan fought not to leap through the window and try to tear the bastards limb from limb.

A keening wail cut through the mansion. As one the students sat up and stared at the window.

In his office, Charles lay his head on the desk and cried as they took Scott away.

The End