Searching for You

No Place Like Home

The following hour was one of the strangest I had ever experienced in my life. Logan and Raven were the two most interesting people I had ever met and it was simply because I had never met another mutant personally. The thought that there were others like me was a comfort in itself, but the fact that I was not speaking to two of them felt like I had found a home somewhere.

Maybe my dad would feel the same way when I met him?

I thought about what Marcus would say about this. He would either laugh or be a little off-put. Either way, I knew he would definitely have a ton of questions to ask them and me. I could just see his perfect brown eyes light up as the conversation went on. What I would give to see that smile just one more time . . .

Man, I needed help. Badly.

We can worry about him later, I reminded myself. Right now, we're focusing on finding my dad.

Our group had grown by two members and we were now walking toward where the run-down building was in the article, since all of us couldn't fit in a taxi or Logan's car. Logan had a really nice car. Like, a super nice car. How did he manage to afford something like that? His house definitely didn't show any sign of a well-paying job.

I looked up at the rugged mutant. What were his secrets? What made him tick?

How did he figure out he was special?

"I don't like you staring at me like that," he said gruffly, looking at me from the corner of his eye. "If you have something to ask, just ask it. Don't stare like that, it's uncomfortable."

I blinked rapidly out of shock. "Sorry," I apologized. I took a moment to gather my thoughts before I spoke.

"What, exactly, do you and Raven do together?"

Logan's head snapped to my direction and then exchanged a glance with Raven, who just shrugged. The Davenports were listening intently behind us.

"Yeah, why are you two so weird?" Adam asked suddenly.

"Adam!"

"What, Bree? We were all thinking it."

"No, it's a valid question," Raven said. "You don't meet people like us every day like you used to."

"'Used to'?" Chase repeated.

"Long story."

We continued to walk through Westchester and eventually the town thinned out. There weren't many houses around, and it was mostly trees next to the road. I imagined how ridiculous this must look to passing cars; a group of teenagers and two adults leading them down a nearly-abandoned road. They would either think that this was some weird school trip or that it was a very dysfunctional family going on a hiking trip. I was hoping it was the first option, because I definitely didn't want to say I was related to Raven or Logan. That would be awkward.

But what was it that Logan had said about Raven and my dad? They were former lovers? What happened between them and what would have happened if he had married her instead of my mom? How would I have turned out?

Would I even have met the Davenports?

That was a thought I didn't want to dwell on.

"How much farther away?" Leo groaned, his footsteps clopping on the pavement.

"Stop complaining," Logan snapped. "What, do you want me to carry you or something?"

"Is that an option?"

"No!"

I couldn't help but giggle. Logan was funny, I had to admit. Even if he was a bit rude sometimes. I also didn't think he even mean to be funny. Someone had definitely rubbed off on him to make him so hilarious without him realizing it.

A gap opened up in the trees to reveal a large lawn. My heart skipped a beat. Was this it? Was this the huge, World War 2 mansion?

A few more steps would reveal the answer.

There it stood before me, the largest house I had ever seen. There had to be at least a hundred rooms in there. And there was no telling what else. Was there a ballroom? A massive library? I had so many questions, and it didn't look like either Raven or Logan would be willing to answer them.

By the looks of it, they were visiting a place in their memory that they wanted to forget. So many memories flashed behind those eyes that I was scared to ask about them. And I thought I was traumatized. They looked like they had seen every war under the sun.

We came upon a gate---the same gate that was seen in the article. It was wrought iron and stood wide open, a sign plastered to one of the brick pillars that held it up:

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

We were here. We made it.

Is my dad inside?

We paused at the gate, taking it all in. Logan looked at Raven and gave a sad smile. It was the first time I had seen him smile and it surprised me. I didn't think he was capable of such a thing.

"Bring back any memories, Mystique?" he asked her.

She returned the smile and looked back at the house. "Too many, Wolverine."

Mystique? Wolverine? What on earth were those names? They had to be code names or something. I looked at Chase for help and he was too busy analyzing every single detail of the mansion that stood before him. It was so interesting to see his brain work. I don't even know how to explain how you could see it work, but you could just by looking at his eyes.

I elbowed him. "It's kinda funny that you're more enthralled than I am and this is a step into my family history."

He laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Yeah, it is."

"You kids ready?" Raven asked us, taking us out of our own thoughts.

"Hey, what is this place?" Bree piped up. "You really haven't given us much information."

Logan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why are you always asking questions?"

"Give them a break," Raven scolded, slapping him on the arm. "This is all brand new for them."

Logan looked skyward and sighed, placing his hands on his hips and unintentionally showing off his bloody knuckles. The sight made my stomach churn as I remembered how he got them. The blades. How on earth had he managed to live so long with them?

"Alright," he said finally, clapping his hands together. "This is our old home. Happy?"

He turned his attention to me. "Your dad used to live here, too, kiddo."

And that was when I stopped breathing. This was my dad's old home? How on earth did he have the budget to afford this? I mean, he was a scientist, so maybe that was it. Or maybe he was just friends with the owner.

I recalled the picture in the article and the image of my dad standing next to the bald guy in the wheelchair, smiling. Was that the owner? Was that how my dad met these people?

I suddenly remembered where I had seen Raven before. She was in the article, too, in the background behind my dad. She had a large smile on her face like she had accomplished something big. Maybe they all had. I still wasn't sure.

But that didn't mean I wasn't excited about what I was going to see.

"Is my dad still here?" I asked.

Raven shrugged. "Not sure. But, if he said to your mom he was heading to Westchester, this is probably where he was going."