The Logical Exception

{ Chapter 36 - Before the War }

"How can I be related to someone who does not have two brain cells to rub together to form a thought?" Logan was sitting in the back seat of the van, leg bouncing as Patton drove. As soon as they had heard that Roman was going with Mother Necessity their plans had needed to change drastically and Logan hated when plans changed.

"At least he's pretty," Deceit muttered under his breath, a smirk of a smile written on his face. He believed that Roman could handle himself, though he would never admit that he was a little bit worried about the eccentric man.

"I'm sure everything will be okay." It was Patton's turn to chime in some reassurance.

"How can you know that? What data do you have that I don't that could prove his safety?" He had just gotten Roman away from all of that, and though it hadn't been the best situation, they had been planning on getting them to safety, permanently. Now all of that was up in the air again.

"Logie, you need to trust other people." Patton's voice was soft and reassuring. "Roman is a capable person, after all, he's our hero. We have to believe in him."

Logan fell slight at that but his leg still bounced as he drummed his fingers on his legs. He had been trying too hard to protect Roman, but every time he fought harder it seemed to slip out of his fingers. Could he really let go and release control?

{ ~*~ }

"Welcome home my little Emperor."

"Wow, this place is huge." He looked around the mansion, somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered this place, and it was just as large as he remembered. If Logan hadn't pushed them away, he would have grown up here, with all of this at his fingertips. What Logan had said made some amount of sense but the jealousy was consuming. How much better would he be at controlling his powers if he had had parents to help him? How much better would his life be if he had parents who loved him?

"I have to bring your dad down here, he's going to be so happy to see you again."

"Right." It was a bit overwhelming, but he was a prince and could handle it with grace and class.

"Darling, come down, I have a visitor." It didn't take long for a large man to come hulking down the stairs. Roman could see where he got his own muscles from. Logan took after their mom, but he and Remus must have taken after their dad. He was an intimidating figure and even though they stood at equal heights there was something about him that just made Roman feel a bit nervous. He played it up though, hopefully, his real family wasn't too far behind them.

"Hello, dad."

The man threw his arms around Roman, pulling him into a crushing hug. "Welcome home son." His voice almost sounded sad and Roman could feel his resolve breaking. He hugged this man back, rubbing his back gently. It was just like being crushed by Remus.

"I'm home." But was he? He was so confused.

Roman was finally let go, "Now, how about we give you a quick tour and then you can rest. It was probably a long day making it all the way here."

A tour would be a great idea, after all, it would give him a better layout of the place. He had plenty of time to think about how angry Logan was going to be at him, but that was more of a chance to prove himself. "I'd love that."

{ ~*~ }

Logan and the others sat parked not too far from the mansion but not close enough that they would be easily noticed. Logan hadn't come up with a plan yet. He didn't know how to fix this. He had never thought he would have to come back here.

"Breath L, slow deep breaths," Virgil said quietly, putting a hand on Logan's shoulder.

He nodded, taking in a deep breath, losing it halfway through.

"What if I lose him?" Everyone else had stepped out of the car, leaving them alone.

"You aren't going to lose him. I hate to admit it but Princey is just as good at getting himself out of bad situations as he is getting himself into them."

Logan choked out a laugh, bringing his hand to his face. "He really can be."

"And didn't you lose your fight to him?"

"Merely because I am not at my best."

"Not like I haven't been telling you to rest this whole time." Virgil rolled his eyes and Logan gave him a sheepish smile.

"Your concern and care has meant everything to me."

Both of them blushed a bit, falling into an awkward silence as Logan pulled at his slacks.

"Are you feeling a little more clear now?" Virgil finally asked.

"I am. Again, I appreciate it."

"Of course," Virgil said, going to open the door. "Now, let's go outside with the others and see if they have a plan."

{ ~*~ }

After the tour Roman had been led to a guest room, being told that his old bed, while still there, would be much too small for him now. Surprisingly, they hadn't shown him his old room and it did make him curious and after a few hours, Roman began to wander around on his own. His head was in turmoil. Who should he believe? The person who had given him away, supposedly out of love, or the person who had been nothing but kind to him since he had met her?

Logan had made a lot of sense with how he explained things, but since when did life make sense? Roman walked down the hall quietly, trying to make sure his footfalls wouldn't wake anyone up. He even created rugs where he needed to so that he wasn't walking on hard floors. Most of the rooms were boring and empty, and Roman couldn't find the room that was supposed to be his and Remus' bedroom, but he did find what might have been Logan's. It was absolutely torn apart.

"Well someone doesn't know how to clean," Roman said softly to himself with a smirk, looking around to see if there was anything interesting. Logan wasn't the type to hide his secrets out in the open though. Where would a nerd hide his secrets? As he was looking Roman heard footsteps in the halls and fell quiet, listening to the conversation.

"That's all well and good, but how will we get Remus back?" The first voice was low and deep, Roman assumed it was his father's despite the quiet nature of it.

"I'm still figuring that out. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised that that little nullifier was able to tear them apart. According to what we could salvage from the virus's computer, Roman and Remus are as thick as thieves, couldn't separate them if you wanted to. If he gets in the way of us stealing the twins' powers, I'm going to have a lot of fun exacting my revenge on him."

"Just be careful sugar pop, we nullifiers have a lot of different powers, at least, I did before I fell in love with you. If he knows how to use them all, it could be a problem."

"I know I know, damn, I wish we could have finished our experiment before they took him. I really wanted to know if we could assimilate his powers like we did with the others."

"Damn, I love it when you use big words."

Roman could hear kissing and he was torn between gagging and being afraid. He normally loved love, but there was something wrong about all of this. At least now he knew where his allegiance was. No one messed with his best friend.

AN: Well hopefully we know where everyone's allegiances are now. I love all of you! Make sure you are taking care of yourself.