Searching for You

A Blast of the Past

When Raven unlocked the mansion, I thought I might go crazy with anticipation and excitement. 

While the inside was very old and dirty, it was still the most expensive house I had ever seen. And I had visited DC before. The foyer had a very large set of stairs leading to the second floor and a massive chandelier hung down from the ceiling. The floor was nothing to ignore either. It was smooth stone tile with a large X in the center. I wondered what it stood for, but didn't bother asking.

The Davenports were distracting me a bit anyways. 

Bree promptly sped around the entire house with a whoosh, ending back in the foyer with a large grin on her face. The looks on Raven and Logan's faces were almost as priceless in reaction to her bionics. 

"This place is so cool!" Bree squealed. She balled her fists and shook them excitedly. "Like, cooler than Mr. Davenport's house! And his house is the coolest I've ever been in!"

Logan and Raven exchanged a look.

"She remind you of anyone?" Logan asked pointedly.

"Oh yeah," Raven replied, looking Bree over with a smirk. "I think they'd get along great."

"Who?" Chase asked, walking up behind me.

"You'll see."

We followed the two adults down one of the many hallways. Pictures and paintings hung on the walls and I couldn't help but look at them as I passed. There were images of a young boy with brown hair and an even younger girl with blonde hair. I guessed that it was Raven and her brother. But did Raven actually live here? If she lived here, why was it sitting abandoned, especially when she had a key to it?

My guess was that something bad happened that gave her bad memories of this place.

One of the pictures in particular caught my eye. There was an image of a group of weird-looking people, and something about it warmed my heart. I stopped in front of it and examined it.

There was Raven in her blue form, Logan with his claws extended and his beard and hair neatly combed and trimmed. There was the bald, paralyzed man again and standing behind him was a girl with a short white Mohawk and dark skin, a large smile plastered on her face. Standing to the left of her was a man with weird-looking glasses. Instead of two lenses, there was just a big bar across his eyes. A redheaded girl and a guy with silver hair and goggles were there as well.

The next two people were the ones that caught my eye. One was a man with solid yellow eyes, pointed ears, short black hair, dark blue skin like Raven's and a tail---yes, a tail. He had three fingers instead of five and massive fangs protruded from his mouth. The other was also blue, but he was massive and covered in blue fur, but his hair looked normal shape-wise despite the blue color. 

There was something about his eyes, though. Like I had seen them before.

All of the people in the photo---minus the man in the wheelchair---wore the same uniform: A black pantsuit with a yellow X stretching across their chests and over their shoulders. Was this what Raven meant by there being a team?

Chase was beside me in a moment and his eyes trained on the painting. He examined it closely and then looked at me.

"Do you see your dad?" he asked with a smile.

Shocked, I turned my attention back to the picture. I tried to figure out which of these people could be my father, and then my eyes found the man with the blue fur again. There was something about his eyes . . .

No way.

"Yep," Raven confirmed. "That's Hank. More specifically, that's his mutant form."

"Awesome!" Adam exclaimed. "Abby, he turns into an animal like you!"

"I would have thought that her dad was this guy," Leo put in, pointing to the man with the tail. "Y'know, because he has a tail and all."

Raven's face turned a bright red and she averted her eyes. Logan sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"That's Kurt Wagner," he explained. "It's Raven's son."

"Who's his dad?" I asked.

"Azazel," Raven said. "My ex husband."

"Long story," Logan sighed.

But I couldn't help but train my eyes on my father. I studied every curve and sharp edge of his face, every flaw and perfection. In his eyes, I saw my own. Not by color, by personality and soul. I found my hand reaching out to touch the image of his face, brushing the surface of the picture ever so slightly. A tear began to roll down my cheek. Would I ever get to see him?

Chase placed a hand on my shoulder. "We'll find him."

We continued to walk down the hallway and came upon what appeared to be an elevator. Logan stepped forward and pushed the button, waiting. It wasn't too long before the door slid open and we all walked inside. It was a silver elevator, which wasn't what I was used to. Way too fancy for someone like me to stand in it.

And on top of all that, I thought Adam might jump out of his skin in excitement. I swear, he was such a child.

The elevator slowed to a stop and the door slid open, revealing a dark corridor. Raven stepped forward first and hit a button on the wall, turning on the lights. It was a long, metal hallway. What was it with this house and hallways? I guessed it was because of the size, but good grief. There had to be some sort of world record that was broken at this point. World's First House With Eight Million Hallways, or some other crap.

We all hesitantly followed her and I grabbed for Chase's hand for reassurance. He took it gladly and gave it a comforting squeeze. At least I had these guys with me along the way.

There was no telling what would happen if I ran into my dad here.

When we came upon another set of doors, my heart began to pound. Who would we see? My dad? One of the other people in the painting?

They pushed the doors open and we stepped inside. The lights were already on. Someone was here.

But it wasn't a regular room.

It was a weird, blue dome with a bridge leading to a platform in the center. There was someone on the platform. Someone in a wheelchair with a weird helmet on.

"It's about time you got here," the man said, his wheelchair turning around slowly to reveal the bald man from the picture.

The same man who was seen in the article with my dad.

"Who are you?" Bree challenged. "And how did you know we were coming?"

"Yeah, who are you, bro?" Adam added, crossing his arms.

The bald man smiled. "There's quite a lot that you don't know, Adam Davenport."

Adam's jaw dropped. "Okay that's just freaky."

I had to admit he was right. How did this random British man know our names already?

The bald man lifted the helmet from his head and placed it on the desk behind him. He looked us over like he knew everything about us. And he probably did, but I didn't know how. 

You will see soon enough.

I stumbled backward a bit and gripped Chase's shoulder, my eyes wide. I heard the man's voice in my mind, but I wasn't sure how. Was I going crazy?

One look at the others told me that they heard it too.

What had we walked into?

"Guys, this is Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X," Raven said, gesturing to the man. "My brother."

"Trust me," Logan began, "if anyone can find your dad, Abby, it's him."

Charles pushed a button on his wheelchair and he started rolling towards us, his face serene and kind. Something in his eyes spoke of great intelligence. But something else told of great power. I had to keep my guard up around him.

"Don't worry, Abigail McCoy," he said to me. "I will find your father."