Redemption

Chapter Thirty-six ~ Panic Room

The next day Logan told me we were going somewhere.

"Just the two of us," he said. "Professor X said you can walk decently now."

I nodded and tried to push myself up. Logan shot over and helped me out of my bed.

"I don't think I can go where we're going," I told him. "I can't even get out of bed on my own."

"Please," said Logan. "You can make it."

I took a deep breath and pushed myself forward.

"Come on," I said. "I want to get out of here."

 It had been a week since the war against Daken and the Dark Avengers. Jean told me everything was going to be okay, that Daken wasn't going to hurt us anymore. Norman Osborn, Ares, and Venom were put in custody. Moonstone and Bullseye's bodies were taken away. I never heard what happened to Daken. Maybe the Dark Phoenix disintegrated him and there's no body to be found. Hopefully.

Now that he's gone, I feel a bit more safe. He was probably the most dangerous person the X-men have ever fought. More dangerous than Magneto and Jean when she was the Dark Phoenix. I'm glad I came out alive. But Scott . . . let's just say that Jean hasn't completely gotten over his death yet. To be honest, none of us really have. We weren't expecting him to die.

Currently I'm standing just outside the door of Professor X's school. The door opened and I turned around, expecting it to be the person I was waiting for. Everything stopped.

"Oh, hey," said Daken. "It's good to see you again, Rogue."

I turned and ran. 

I watched Rogue run away.

"Is everything alright?" Logan asked, coming out of the school. He didn't notice Rogue's retreating form.

"Yeah," I said, "everything's fine. Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe," said Logan. "Somewhere where you won't get hurt and where you won't hurt other people."

I laughed, "That must be a good place!"

"We decided it's the best place for you," said Logan.

"We?" I asked. "Who's we? You and Charles?"

He walked past me, not saying anything.

"Logan, tell me," I said. "Who's we?"

"I'll tell you later," said Logan. "We have to go."

I sighed and followed him. Typical Logan.

Logan heard Daken sigh and the crunch of his feet on the grass as he followed his father. Logan's heart stung. He wasn't telling a lie but he felt like it. Daken was just starting to trust him. Don't think about it too much, Logan told himself, it's for the best. He stepped onto Utopia's single dock and stepped carefully into a boat. Logan looked up at Daken who was still on the dock. 

"Not going to drown me, are you?" asked Daken.

"No," I said. "You can trust me. I'm taking you somewhere safe."

Finally, a lie. He can't trust me. I am a terrible father. I let him kill Laura and Gabby. I let my two daughters die at his hands. I'm done protecting him. He is no longer my son.

I stepped into the boat and looked at my father. There was a dark look in his eyes. I looked behind me. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Dad?" I asked. "Are you alright?"

Logan's head snapped to attention, the darkness seeping out of his eyes to be replaced with warmth.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Logan. "Just thinking."

There was something off with the warmth in Logan Howlett's eyes. It was false.

"I-I need to get off the boat," I said, momentarily forgetting that I was still on X-men-land. "I-I forgot something."

"But, Daken," said Logan, his face bearing fake confusion and a hint of real suspicion. "You didn't bring any personal items to Utopia." 

"Oh, right," I said. "Sorry, I forgot. I'm just a little nervous about where we're going, that's all."

My dad nodded, a fake smile washing away the false concern. The suspicion was still there though. That was the only real thing in his little act.

"That's understandable," he said in a falsely calm voice. "You can trust me though, I'm your father."

The lie felt good, smoothly executed. Daken didn't suspect a thing. Logan still felt a little hurt because he was lying to my son but the images of Gabby and Laura's faces beat it away. Daken Akihiro, Logan's son, the son he had been looking for and trying to win back for years, was a monster. He needed to be put away.

I'm sorry Itsu, thought Logan, I'm so sorry, but it needs to be done. Daken will never see the light of day again.