The Logical Exception

{ Chapter 42 - Clearing the Board }

The car was silent. Only the bumps in the road could be heard over the thinking minds of the car's occupants. No one knew what words to say in this situation. What could you say when someone had lost their powers? Each of the other men looked back at Logan, but he didn't notice. His head had once again caved in with the reality of his situation.

He was powerless.

Something that had been a part of him his entire life was completely gone and he could feel the echos in his body that remained. It felt like his powers were still there, still able for him to reach out and use them, but nothing came of it.

Logan let out a breath that was supposed to be steadying but instead rattled through his body, filling up the empty spots that had once been full. It caught in his throat before fully escaping.

Virgil noticed. He broke the silence in the car. "What now?" He asked quietly, putting his hand on Logan's leg.

"I..." What could Logan say, he wasn't sure, he didn't know what the next step was because he had never foreseen this as a possible outcome. "I don't know."

"The almighty king doesn't know something." It was meant to be teasing. Logan was giving him a weak smile, but it only made Logan feel worse. How was he supposed to protect all of these people, the people he had dragged into danger? How was he supposed to protect his brothers? Logan's mind stalled as Virgil gently gave his knee a reassuring squeeze.

"I don't know, Prince Do-To-Much isn't being a know it all your thing." Virgil was there to cut in, giving Roman a look that he didn't seem to get.

Roman feigned offense, his hand reaching up to his chest. "Alas, you advertise your loyalty, I shall have to see you beheaded next spring."

"Awe, I have to wait until spring? That's too many days."

The banter made Logan relax a little as his own hand reached out for Virgil's. He needed the strength and Virgil was a grounding force.

"I would be remiss if you were to behead him." Logan's voice came out quietly but there was a hint of attempted humor.

"Well, I guess I can renounce my anger just this once for my least favorite brother."

"How magnanimous of you, your highness." Logan's voice was completely dry.

Virgil squeezed his hand softly again. A less tense silence began to fall but Logan wasn't ready for it.

"My next move is to go after my parents."

"Nope, sorry Kiddo, that is vetoed," Patton said from the front seat. "You are injured, and you have been pushing yourself too hard. This was a hard battle for all of us. Your next move is to rest." Patton's voice was sweet and soft but his shoulders were tense like he was waiting to be yelled at.

Logan wanted to yell. He wanted to scream and get angry at Patton for what he had done, but he couldn't. He knew that Patton's actions were justified and though it left Logan feeling empty and hollow, Patton had done what he thought was right. From his point of view, it was right. Logan wasn't going to hesitate to kill his parents. He knew what he had needed to do, but Patton didn't see it that way. Patton thought that all life was worth being spared.

"I agree with Pat, you need to rest, Lo." Virgil rolled his eyes at Logan's obvious hesitance.

"That still does not necessarily answer the question at hand. Are we all going back to the house although it might be compromised? Are we going back to the apartment which is certainly compromised? Are we sticking together as a large group, or are we going our separate ways?"

"I'm staying with Roman and Patton," Remus called out, refusing to be separated from his brother and his boyfriend.

"I'm not opposed to sticking around the tangled twins of chaos, it's entertaining." Janus said, "Though I think Sleep and the fluffy one are going to want their own space."

Logan nodded slowly. That just left him and Virgil, and Virgil was looking at him with a smirk. Over the chaos of just the past week, Virgil had been a constant, a safe place that he could go to. Logan had started out trying to manipulate Virgil, treating him like a pawn but Logan really did see Virgil as the most powerful piece on his chessboard, and the piece to keep protected. Logan wasn't very useful anymore.

"Why not stick with us? Might be nice to have a mastermind genius around."

Logan looked down at his hands, one still wrapped in Virgil's. He wasn't going to be as useful without his powers, but he still had his intelligence. Virgil still wanted him around for his intelligence. He could still be useful. "I believe it would be suitable for me to stay."

"Then we can go back to the house, and we can work on our Home security." Patton smiled, the chipperness lacing his voice. "They don't have powers anymore." He had an optimistic outlook on the future.

Logan was tempted to remind Patton that underestimating those two could be a death sentence, but he could remind them of that later. For now, though, he would rest and relax. He would finally let himself heal, and when he was ready, he would form a new plan.