Work Text:
Pictures
Logan
He was covered in mud. It was nothing he wasn’t used to; he had always been a soldier. Logan could function with a little dirt on him. He made sure the picture stayed clean though. He needed to find this brat—he came up with a blank whenever he tried to think of a name—especially since Scott had seemed pretty panicked when he asked him to find this kid. It was right before Scott himself had disappeared. Scott just shoved a picture into his hands and begged—Scott never begged, least of all to him—Logan to find him. When Logan agreed, he gave him some basic information and then took off.
He didn’t know anything about this kid other than what he looks like and that he could shoot lasers from his body. Logan hadn’t had a chance to get a good look at the picture, but he supposed now was as good a time as any. Scott’s little brother looked young, but then again, he didn’t know how old this picture was. Scott clearly loved this picture, or maybe just the person in it. The edges were worn, but the main part with the kid’s face wasn’t. He was blond, somewhere around sixteen or seventeen, and had broad shoulders that tapered off into a thin waist. His blue eyes were wide with surprise, like someone just snapped a spontaneous photo of him.
Something about the picture kept drawing Logan’s eye. He wiped his hand off and pulled it out of his pocket. When he turned it over he saw the name Alex scrawled on the back.
Alone
Scott
Scott was cold and hungry in his cage, but he wasn’t as freaked out as he should have been. He had bought time for Logan to find Alex by doing this. For all of the animosity between the two of them, he knew Logan was trustworthy, and he saw the way he was around kids, how protective he was of them. He knew Logan would protect Alex. He just hoped the time he bought them was enough.
Sinister had always shown an interest in Alex, maybe even more of one than he had shown in Scott, and now he had the means to start chasing them in earnest. Scott wasn’t surprised that Sinister was allied with an organization that was capturing mutants. They probably thought if they let Sinister experiment as he pleased, he’d find some large scale way to deal with the “mutant problem.”
There were so many military people here, which meant Stryker was probably behind this. He didn’t know who would double cross who first, but either way he was on his own.
He just hoped Logan found Alex in time. He didn’t want him anywhere near Sinister and his madman doctor kit.
Panic
Alex
Alex was trying desperately not to panic although that seemed pretty inevitable at this point. He couldn’t reach his brother, even at the emergency number he told Alex to call if he was ever in danger. He didn’t know how else to reach Scott and the only other people he knew were the few prisoners he had shared a cell with in the past. He just knew someone had tried to kidnap him, and after almost killing the man, he ran like hell.
Adrenaline was pumping through his veins as he ran through the woods near the cabin they had been staying at. He kept running and running and running, his breaths coming out in harsh pants. When he finally stopped he realized he was shaking, and it was getting harder to breathe. He didn’t know where he was or where his brother was. He didn’t know why someone was after him. No one except Scott knew he was a mutant, but that man looked like government. He had spent enough time in foster care and prison to know who was government and who wasn’t.
First though, he needed to calm down and see what he had to work with. He checked his pockets and would have whooped for joy if he wasn’t so terrified. He forgot to take some money out of his pockets. It wasn’t much, but at least it was something. He also found a note in Scott’s writing. It was messy, like he was in a hurry.
‘Find Logan. Sometimes he goes by Wolverine. You can trust him. He’ll help.’
Vicious
Logan
Logan had nothing to go by, and he couldn’t exactly go around flashing the kid’s picture. No matter what Scott liked to think, he wasn’t stupid. He knew the government had been rounding up mutants, and if they went for Scott, they’d probably go after someone with similar powers. It’s not like he could go to other mutants for help either. Mutants that hadn’t already been captured were either in the resistance—the ones led by Mags were some vicious sons of bitches—or in hiding.
So of course, because kids on the run that are also in danger just seem to keep crashing into his life, he had been looking for a week when he saw a fed dragging the kid away in a chokehold, likely to one of those handy little “research facilities” the government had built. He looked terrified.
He was trying to get a shot in, but Logan didn’t see any signs that he was about to use any powers. Logan could see from here though that he wasn’t going to last long. His eyes were glazing over and his eyelids were drooping. This bastard wasn’t letting up on his throat.
“Kid, close your eyes!” he called out.
You didn’t hurt kids around Wolverine, but just because this guy needed to learn that didn’t mean the kid had to see it. There was a moment of hesitation from the fed and the kid before he closed his eyes.
Wolverine lunged for the fed and knocked him away from the kid.
Desperate
Scott
Scott had been desperate when he ran off, leaving only vague directions for Logan and Alex to find each other. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to regret his decision. He just hoped Logan found Alex. He knew both he and Alex couldn’t escape, so he tried to make sure at least Alex would.
He was in the main facility; he could tell that much from the mutants he had seen in neighboring cages. Some he recognized. Scott knew a few of them, but he was thankful to see that none of them seemed to be from the school. Professor Xavier was good at making sure kids could easily and quietly escape. He was still horrified to see that there were children in some of the cages, a couple of them barely hitting puberty, their powers likely just having manifested.
He saw the mutants around him being moved in and out of the cages, most of them not coming back. He didn’t fool himself into thinking he wouldn’t go through the same. He had seen Sinister here, staring at all of the people he had to experiment on with glee on his face, staring at him. He knew Sinister had something planned for him. He had wanted to dissect him since they had met, and now he had the opportunity.
Scott knew it was only a matter of time, but he would do anything if it meant keeping Alex safe. Anything.
Control
Alex
Alex had been trying to control his powers, keep them from lashing out and killing this man. He didn’t want to kill anyone, even if they were obviously going to hurt him. He just had to keep control over it.
He didn’t know how to use his powers without slicing someone in half. The man that had tried to kidnap him before had almost been cut in half at the torso, but at Alex’s panicked yell had managed to warn him and he jumped aside in time. The loops had sliced through his leg, and Alex hoped the wound cauterized from the intense heat. He hoped the man had made it out alive. He didn’t want to be responsible for any more deaths.
He didn’t know how long he could keep himself from blasting, though. The chokehold had him panicking, and the familiar burning sensation was rising in his chest. Then he heard the stranger tell him to close his eyes. He didn’t know whether or not to trust this guy, but then he saw the metal claws piercing the skin through his knuckles. The guy didn’t even seem to realize it was happening.
So the guy was obviously a mutant. Still, he had heard the rumors that there were mutants helping capture other mutants. Scott had tried to keep him unaware—he knew his big brother was just trying to protect him—but he had still heard the whispers.
He closed his eyes and hoped he could trust this guy.
Savior
Logan
“Are you Alex?” Logan had managed to pull the kid away from where the fed’s dead body was. He didn’t understand why the kid didn’t fight back. Still, he was determinedly not looking in the direction of where the fed lay with his blood pooling under him, so he figured Alex was one of many people that didn’t like seeing corpses. Neither did Logan, but he was used to them.
“Yeah.” He looked surprised, before asking, “Are you Logan?”
“Yep.” He sized the kid up. “How’d you know my name, kid?”
“Scott told me to find you.” He was shifting anxiously from foot to foot, staring at Logan like he might have all the answers. Logan hated it when kids looked at him like that. It made it easier to let them down, no matter how much he didn’t want to. Rogue and Jubilee had still looked at him that way the last time he saw them, and he had barely managed to save them. Now this kid was giving him the same look. “Do you know where he is?”
“I don’t know where your brother is.” His face fell, but he immediately pulled himself up like he realized he was looking vulnerable. It was obvious he was trying to look like a tough guy, and it might have fooled anyone else. Logan could smell how scared he was, though, and he could see it in those wide eyes. He wasn’t good at this, but the kid would be dead weight like this. Or at least that’s the excuse he’d use if anyone asked.
He clapped him on the shoulder and made sure he looked him dead in the eye when he said, “But we’ll find him.” Logan pretended not to be relieved when the kid seemed just that little bit less terrified.
Power
Scott
His powers had always been a point of interest for Sinister. He and Alex were walking power. Their abilities could destroy just about anything but each other, for which they were grateful. He remembered when they realized that. Toad had snatched his visor, and Alex had been in the line of fire. He was so panicked he couldn’t even scream when he realized this. He spent the whole time he had to keep his eyes closed shaking, even while Rogue kept repeating “Scott, he’s alright, he’s fine, he’s just bruised, he’s alive, he’s fine,” until the words just bled together for Scott.
He didn’t fully believe it until Storm returned with his visor and he could see for himself. Alex was clutching his torso and shot Scott a weak smile. He kept checking him over to see for himself and then pulled him into a hug. He didn’t let go for a long time. He didn’t know if he was immune to Alex’s powers, or if the immunity Alex had to his had faded, but neither were particularly interested in testing it out.
They were human energy conductors and he knew Sinister just couldn’t wait to get his hands on them and figure out what made their powers work. For all of the energy he could channel, though, he was still stuck in a suppression collar. He felt helpless, and he didn’t know what he would do if Alex was suddenly the next mutant they brought in. He would break if he had his brother so close only to find himself unable to help him.
Alex had plenty of power, but with or without the suppression collar he wouldn’t use it. Alex had never liked his powers, seeing them only as destruction and never used them. He didn’t know how to fight, he wouldn’t use his powers, and Scott wasn’t there to defend him. He hadn’t felt so powerless since foster care.
Depression
Alex
Logan found him with his knees hugged to his chest, his eyes looking out blankly at the trees.
“What’s wrong, kid?”
“My name’s not kid,” he grumbled, but it had no actual fight in it.
“I know.” Alex glared at him and went back to looking at the woods.
Logan looked away like he thought he wouldn’t get an answer Alex said so quietly is was almost a whisper, “What do you think they’re doing to Scott?”
“Don’t torture yourself like that.” His eyes snapped away from the trees to look at Logan with rapt attention. He saw Logan’s mouth twitch, like he wanted to frown deeper at that. He knew he was putting too much faith in someone he didn’t know. He kept listening anyway. “Scott’s a tough guy. He’ll make it.” He stared at Alex until he nodded.
“Okay.” He paused until he decided what to say. “Thank you for helping me back there.” Logan only grunted at that.
“Why weren’t you fighting back?” Alex stiffened. “From what Scott told me you could’ve just blasted him away with your powers.” He was looking anywhere but Logan, sure discomfort and nerves were radiating from his body even though he tried to hide it. His reply was so quiet he didn’t know if Logan would hear him. Maybe he didn’t want him to, he wasn’t sure.
“I didn’t want to kill him.”
“What about hand to hand?” Alex felt relief course through him at the subject change.
“I don’t know how.”
“You don’t? Scott didn’t teach you?”
“Scott was busy and I have authority issues.” He paused before adding, “When it comes to Scott anyway.”
“He has that effect on people.” He saw Alex’s lips twitch up at that before he nudged his knee with his own and stood. “Get up.”
“Huh?” He stood despite his confusion.
“I’ll teach you.”
Unbalanced
Logan
Alex’s weakness was in grappling. He could fistfight just fine, but he needed to learn how to free himself from someone stronger than him. He was a fast learner, but he still couldn’t quite throw Logan off.
“Plant your feet and get a good grip.”
Alex nodded and waited for him to come at him again. He would try to keep Logan off, and if he managed to restrain him—which he always did—he would try to get out of it. There were a few times when he got close, but no successes so far.
Alex was making a pretty good effort trying to get Logan’s arm off his neck and waist, bucking against him and trying to get good footing. He was making some of the same mistakes as before, trying to actually throw him instead of working with gravity.
Suddenly the air was rushing past his ears and his back was hitting the floor. Logan found himself staring up at Alex’s beaming face and realized the kid had actually managed to slip out of his grasp and mess up his balance so he would fall. He looked so excited he had actually managed it.
He let him bask in it for a minute before he swung his leg out and swept Alex’s legs out from under him.
“Don’t get cocky, kid.”
Poverty
Scott
Alex and Scott didn’t grow up with much. They were bounced around so many foster homes they weren’t able to accumulate many things. After a while, they lost the few things they had managed to gather anyway. They had never been particularly attached to material possessions anyway.
He did remember once that Alex had a stuffed wolf he called Scott. He had gotten it one of the times they had been in different homes, and he wouldn’t let it out of his sight. It went with him everywhere, and Scott got a good laugh at himself once he realized he was getting jealous of a plushie.
He lost it in another foster home where they were separated. The foster father had been a mean drunk that liked to knock the kids around, including Alex. He saw Alex with Scott the wolf and tore it apart in front of him as he told Alex he wanted real men in his house before he beat him again.
Scott had wanted to kill him. He hadn’t developed his powers yet, but if Alex hadn’t begged that they just leave it all behind he would have found another way. He would have gone back and ripped the man to pieces if Alex hadn’t stopped him. He had told him it wasn’t worth Scott going to jail; it wasn’t worth being separated again.
Searing pain pulled him from his thoughts and he pulled at his restraints.
“Pain appears to have no effect on his power levels. Average pain tolerance. Further experimentation required.” Scott glared at Sinister who continued only smiled in absolute glee and picked up a different scalpel.
Destruction
Alex
Things had been going so well; of course Alex would fuck it up soon. It was probably built into his genes to destroy anything even remotely close to good, let alone functional. And it had been over the stupidest thing too.
Oh God there was so much blood.
Alex’s hands were shaking while he took off his shirt to press into the wound. The blood quickly soaked through, but he didn’t have anything else to use to stem the blood flow. He didn’t know if Logan would make it.
Alex had been so deeply asleep. He hadn’t slept well since this whole mess started and he had startled awake when Logan shook him. The blast had left his body and hit Logan on the stomach point blank. He couldn’t dodge and he had almost been sliced in half, one sharp, neat slice with the edges blistering and burnt.
He still tried to keep him from bleeding to death, even though he knew no one could survive that.
“Stop crying.”
Alex jumped and almost let loose another blast. Logan was staring right at him, looking at him like he wasn’t only being held in one piece by his spine and the skin on his back.
“It’ll heal.”
“It’ll heal? What do you mean it’ll heal?” There was a moment where Logan was still before he reached out and moved Alex’s hands away, taking the cloth with it. Alex stiffened for a moment, afraid of having to see the gore that would likely follow nearly being cut in half.
He saw the muscle knitting itself back together, the skin following shortly after. In a matter of minutes Logan’s stomach looked like it just had a strip of irritation before that faded too.
“What?”
Unfortunately, Logan didn’t get the chance to explain.
Traitors
Logan
Logan saw a girl flying at them, which wasn’t too bad until he realized she was also spitting acid. He flipped himself over so he was covering Alex right before he felt several burning patches trail over his back. She was hitting him almost as quickly as he was healing, and it hurt like a bitch.
Then he heard a puff of smoke and smelled sulfur immediately preceding a sword embedding itself in his shoulder. He twisted so he could pull the sword from the guy’s grasp. It worked, and the red guy was startled long enough for Logan to kick him in the stomach. The man disappeared and the girl didn’t seem to be spitting things at them anymore, so he took the opportunity to get up and haul the kid up too.
Then the sound and smell came again and the sword was being pulled from his back. He barely managed to push the kid back and dodge when the acid started up again.
“Run!”
Alex looked at him confusedly, as if he actually thought he would abandon Logan to fight them on his own. That hesitation was all they needed. Logan saw a tail wrap around his neck and saw his eyes widen in terror before the red guy and Alex disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
He was looking around desperately, not the Logan would ever admit to ever being desperate, and saw the girl flying away.
At least he had a lead. He was going to find that kid.
And if he got to slice up someone along the way, well, they were traitors in this war.
Cruelty
Scott
Sinister knew what he was doing. He purposely had the teleporting mutant drag Alex by his neck by Scott’s cell. He was marching his trophy around where Scott could see, and he felt unparalleled rage course through him. He didn’t remember moving forward and gripping the bars. He just saw Alex struggling to stay conscious with the tail wrapped bruising tight around his neck, his eyes wide and terrified when they met Scott’s.
He could see the bastard dragging it out from here. He would tighten his tail until Alex was choking and loosen it right before Alex lost consciousness, giving him just enough room to breathe before immediately tightening it again. He threw a smirk over his shoulder, making it clear he knew Scott was watching.
He dragged Alex all the way to the cages in the last row and roughly threw him in. Alex was coughing harshly in between taking in deep lungfuls of air, and Scott was relieved at the simple blessing of Alex’s throat not being crushed. He glared at the teleporter when he walked by and resisted the urge to try and do something, do anything to him. He would have been a little satisfied biting his tail, anything to replace that smug look with some pain. Alex’s painful sounding coughs drew his attention back to him, and he tried to check on his injuries from a distance. Unfortunately, super sight was not part of his mutation, and all he could do was listen as Alex tried to get his breathing back to normal.
His breaths were ragged, and Scott wished he had been put in the cell next to him. The cells were so close together he could have reached into the next one and maybe done something to help soothe the pain. It occurred to him that was probably why Alex had been put on the other side of the containment area. He couldn’t even talk to Alex without having to shout. He wouldn’t, because he didn’t his words of reassurance to be used against Alex later.
Domination
Alex
Alex tried not to show how terrified he was when they sent the red guy to get him. He smirked like he knew what Alex was thinking, and Alex nearly laughed at how the one time he wanted to use his powers on someone, there was a mutant suppression collar in the way.
They approached Scott’s cage, and he tensed. His brother had been here the whole time, Alex had figured that much out, and he was scared of what these other people had done to him, and what they were planning now. He didn’t understand how mutants could work with people like this. They would eventually be in those positions once the people running this place no longer needed them. They either didn’t know that or didn’t care, but even with those thoughts, he still didn’t understand how mutants could turn on their own kind like this.
He wondered if Logan was okay. He didn’t know if others had come after the two mutants that attacked them first, but he hadn’t seen Logan be brought in. He hoped that didn’t mean he was dead.
Scott was being led out of his cage, but he was made to walk in front of the mutant leading Alex. They couldn’t talk to each other and Scott couldn’t even see him this way, and it hurt to have finally found Scott again and still not be able to even talk to his brother.
He only got more and more nervous the longer they walked, and it only got worse when he and Scott were shoved through a door leading into what looked like a fighting ring.
“For the record, subjects Summers, Scott and Summers, Alex. Immunity test 1. Method of testing: combat.” The voice sounded almost bored, and he saw an identical look of horror on his brother’s face when they realized what it meant. Alex looked around to see if any other mutants were being led in. He didn’t want to kill anyone, but he couldn’t fire at his brother. He might be immune to Scott’s powers, but they didn’t know if the reverse was true. He didn’t want to risk it.
“Begin.” He heard the collar beep, presumably to signal his powers were active again.
Alex looked around warily knowing the reaction the both of them doing nothing would not be good. A beeping sound started, and it beeped ten times before going silent.
Almost immediately after, Alex screamed at the electricity coursing through him.
Instincts
Logan
He was following the girl, but something was off. She had abruptly changed direction, and he didn’t know if she was now going the right way or if she knew he was following and was trying to throw him off.
There was only one way to know for sure, and luckily for him the girl seemed to be quickly tiring. Her altitude had been dropping slowly the longer they had been going, and Logan knew she would be landing soon. He sped up so he’d be able to catch her when she did land. He didn’t anticipate her sudden drop. Logan broke into a sprint to catch up with her. Tracking her through the air was easy enough; she was the only thing up there. Now, however, her distance would make her much harder to track her through the trees.
He burst through some low-hanging branches and straight into the girl spitting balls of acid in his face again. He was getting a little tired of it. He walked through it straight at her and grabbed the first thing he could. Luckily it was her arm, and he wrenched it behind her back. He brought his other hand up and slowly extended his claws until they were pressing against her throat.
“What’s your name?” His voice came out as a low growl, the anger clear and he heard her swallow heavily.
“Angel.” To anyone but Logan, she would have sounded unaffected, but he could hear the slight tremor in her voice.
“Well, Angel,” he spat out the name with distaste, “you’re going to tell me where they took the kid.”
Animosity
Scott
Scott could direct the blast at what looked like the observation area, but he knew it wouldn’t work. His options had been narrowed down to attack his brother or watch him be electrocuted. He couldn’t even draw in enough breath to scream anymore. They had been starting and stopping the shocks, likely so Alex wouldn’t die, but he couldn’t tell how long they would do that before deciding it wasn’t worth it and then finish the job.
He removed his glasses opened his eyes a sliver so Alex wouldn’t be hit by a full blast. It was a small shot, but it was still strong enough to knock Alex over. At least the shocks stopped. He felt his knees almost give out under him with relief that the blast hadn’t sliced into him.
He tried to run over to check on his brother, but when he got close enough the shocks started again. He backed off immediately, but the shocks continued. He tried blasting him the same way again, but this time the shocks wouldn’t stop. They wanted him to shoot Alex full blast.
Even though thankfully Alex still seemed to be immune to his powers, he could still be knocked around by them. A full force blast could do some serious damage, immunity or no.
It was either blast him or watch him be electrocuted to death. He took a deep breath and tried not to shoot any vital areas, but once he opened his eyes completely it wouldn’t matter where he was aiming. He put the glasses back on in time to see Alex fly towards a wall and hit it with a terrifying crunch.
“Alex!” Alex didn’t move. He didn’t try to get up and Scott couldn’t tell from here if he was breathing, and he couldn’t move closer. He didn’t want to risk Alex getting electrocuted again. “Alex!” Alex shifted so he could brace himself on the wall when he stood. Now that he was up, he could see Alex’s leg was bent at a painful angle, and he was resting heavily on his other leg.
“Are you okay?” If Alex answered, he couldn’t hear it or see it, and the thought left his mind shortly after his collar started shocking him.
Fear
Alex
He kept letting out pained gasps while he stood. His leg felt like it was on fire and any pressure on it only made it worse. It was probably broken. He braced himself on the wall to try to keep his weight off of it. Scott had asked him if he was okay, and he looked up to see where his brother was. He was still winded from hitting the wall, so he nodded in reply instead before he realized Scott probably couldn’t see it.
He hadn’t even attempted to reply aloud when Scott was receiving the same treatment he had just received. He wasn’t stupid. He knew what they wanted him to do. Scott had only gotten the shocks to stop when he was blasting him.
The problem was he couldn’t control how powerful his blasts were. He couldn’t control where they went. They didn’t even know if Scott survive one of his blasts.
The shocks stopped, and Scott tried to catch his breath.
“Do it, Alex!” Alex looked at his brother in horror. “It’ll be fine!” Scott was still panting for breath, his voice hoarse and Alex knew Scott was lying. He couldn’t possibly know it would be okay. They didn’t have time to argue, though. The shocks started back up again, and Scott futilely pulled on his collar, reflexes taking over.
Alex pushed away from the wall so he could shoot. He could either do this and hope his brother was immune, or sit there and watch him die. Either way if he died, it was Alex’s fault. The rings of plasma shot from his body and he recoiled back and hit the wall again.
Suffering
Logan
Logan had made it into the facility, but he didn’t kid himself into thinking it was unnoticed. He moved quickly and tried at least a little for stealth. Just because he knew he had probably been spotted didn’t mean he had to start fights before he needed to. That wouldn’t help Alex. Or Scott.
He sniffed at the air and realized Scott was here. He followed the scents through the facility and was relieved to find Alex and Scott seemed to be in the same place. He was a little unnerved by how simple this seemed to be. Breaking into a government facility holding dozens of kidnapped mutants should not be this easy. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or annoyed when a blade sunk into his back. At least he didn’t have to wait for the other shoe to drop anymore. At the same time, he hoped this wasn’t becoming a habit. Healing factor or no, it was getting pretty annoying.
He whirled around, claws out and slashing at him, but the bastard poofed away again. Still, he was predictable. He kept aiming for Logan’s back. He smelled sulfur and stabbed at him. He buried his claws in the other man’s stomach and watched the smug smirk drop from his face. He left him where he fell and kept moving. He didn’t have time to try and hide him, and as he was getting closer he realized he smelled something burning.
He cut open the door where the smell was the strongest and saw he was in some kind of observation room. Some guy in a lab coat turned a dial and Logan heard Scott screaming before he turned it again and the screaming died out. He lunged at the guy and threw him to the opposite wall. He was yelling at Alex to do something, and he didn’t understand until he was blasted away from the machines.
A man in the most ridiculous clothing he had ever seen with paper white skin turned the dial, and the screaming started again. Logan cut him, but he watched in shock while the man didn’t even flinch and the wound close up. He was blasted back again. The blasts just kept coming until the other guy switched the dial off again.
“I have all I need. You can have them back.” He walked out of the room and paused just outside. “At least until I need them again.”
Logan wanted to go after the bastard, but he might not get this chance again.
Security
Scott
He heard shouting and felt someone’s arm around his shoulders.
“Scott, please wake up!” He heard the pleading like he had something shoved in his ears. “Scott, come on!” Whoever was holding him shook him lightly.
“Kid, are you alright?” That was shouted too, but he had a hard time making that out too. “What happened to Scott?”
“I’m so sorry!” The voice was sounding more and more like Alex. “I didn’t want to but they wouldn’t stop electrocuting him until I blasted him.” He was sounding more and more distressed, and Scott wanted to reassure him that he was fine, but it was so hard to open his eyes. He kept trying though. Alex was getting more distressed the longer Scott’s eyes stayed closed.
“I’m fine,” he managed to croak out. “Just need a minute.” Alex made a choked sound and buried his face in the crook of Scott’s neck, both arms wrapped almost bruising tight around him now. He could feel wetness, and that jolted him out of his stupor. Alex never cried. His arms felt like lead but he forced them to wrap around Alex anyway. His brother was crying as quietly as possible, but he was sure Logan could hear it too.
“Come on kid, we have to get moving.” Alex nodded and wiped at his face, trying to get rid of the wetness around his eyes.
“I--” he paused and cleared his throat, trying to get his voice steady again. “My leg’s broken.”
“I’m going to have to set it.” He crouched down and helped Alex move so he could get at his leg. “Can you walk?” he asked Scott.
“I’ll be fine in a few minutes.” Logan nodded and focused back on Alex.
“On the count of three.” He waited until Alex nodded and counted, “One, two,” and snapped the bone back in place. “Works better when you’re not expecting it.” Alex’s face had gone white with pain, but he nodded. He saw his fists clenched so hard his nails were drawing blood, and Scott rubbed what he hoped were soothing circles on Alex’s back.
While Alex recovered, Logan cut off the suppressor collars. Clearly they weren’t too concerned about escape attempts since they didn’t seem to have any tamper proof mechanisms. Then again, Logan’s claws were adamantium, so Logan’s ability to cut through them didn’t mean another mutant could have.
Logan helped him up, and together they helped get Alex supported between them so he wasn’t putting too much pressure on his leg. They were shocked at the chaos that greeted them.
Resistance
Alex
It was suspiciously quiet. He felt Logan tense next to him and knew it couldn’t mean anything good.
“I’m not liking how quiet it’s been. I only had to fight one guy on the way in.”
“What?” Scott’s free hand reached for his glasses so he could start blasting at any minute. The explosions almost knocked them all off balance, and the quiet ended. Soldiers started streaming out of who-knows-where, and there were a lot of them. Alex felt Logan unhook his arm from over his shoulders and he charged at them, slicing them threw them with ease with their bullets doing little to slow them down.
Scott was aiming rather well considering he didn’t have his visor, and Alex wished he could help without risking hitting his brother. Again.
He heard the groaning of metal, like several things were being forced to move at once. Then other mutants were streaming in to fight. Scott was looking around, clearly trying to strategize.
“Boys, if you could come towards me please. I’m afraid this building isn’t very wheelchair accessible.”
He looked around, trying to pinpoint where the voice had come from and saw Scott doing the same. Then he started tugging Alex away.
“What about Logan?”
“He’s coming.” As if on cue, he heard a roar of frustration and Logan stalked past them. He didn’t walk too far, but his irritation was obvious.
“Where are we going?”
“You’re going to meet the professor.”
“Professor Xavier? Creator of the X-Men resistance group Xavier?” Scott grimaced.
“You weren’t supposed to know about that.”
“I am capable of watching the news, Scott.”
“Your brother’s the field leader.”
“What?” Alex turned to look at Scott. “’Don’t cause any trouble’ you said. ‘Don’t draw attention to yourself’ you said. Meanwhile you’re leading a resistance group?”
“It’s different.”
“How?”
Logan opened a door in front of them and led them out into a relatively cool night. A man in a wheelchair was nearby, with thinning hair and bright blue eyes. Next to him was an elegant looking black woman with white hair.
“It’s nice to meet you Alex.” Alex nodded at him, unsure of how to reply.
“Sinister and Stryker got away?”
“I’m afraid so.” They heard the shrieking of metal and Alex felt his jaw drop when he saw the roof being peeled off the building. “Oh dear. Sometimes I fear Erik enjoys the theatrics a little too much.” He focused back on the trio in front of them. “Moira will tend to your injuries, and I know this must be hard, but if you could answer her questions on what happened in the facility, that would be incredibly helpful.”
“They’ve had a pretty rough time, Chuck.”
Charles’s voice was gentle but firm when he replied. “I’m afraid we’re now at war, Logan. It will only get rougher, and until we figure out what they’re planning it won’t end.”
“Never thought I’d see you gearing for a fight.” Logan’s smirk was vicious, but the professor seemed unfazed.
“I was hoping to avoid this, but I’m afraid my hand has been forced. Erik was only too happy to join forces after that.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Logan snorted. Charles shot him an amused glance before turning back to the brothers.
“Go get your leg treated, Alex. Don’t worry about fighting today, any of you. We have it handled.” Logan was moving to go back to the fight when Charles commented mildly, “I need someone to help Moira keep them safe.”
“She’s perfectly capable of handling that on her own.”
“I’m sure Alex will feel better about it.” Alex got the distinct impression he was being used right now. “Go rest. There will be plenty of fighting left to do after tonight.” Logan grumbled unintelligibly and Alex saw the professor’s mouth quirk up before Logan was barking at them to get a move on. He found he wasn’t too upset about it, though. His brother was there, he might be able to call Logan a friend, and they were safe.
At least for now.