The Logical Exception

{ Chapter 19 - The Only Option }

"These labs are still so creepy." Logan was snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Virgil.

"They are," This area wasn't used as much as it once had been. Apparently Mother Necessity and Zero Sum had discovered everything they wanted to know when it came to attempting to give people powers. That's all this place had been good for, human experimentation and containment. "I do not envy what you must have gone through down here, I was no longer allowed to be a part of the experiments at that point."

"Honestly, I'm glad you weren't. Don't think I ever could have trusted you if I associated you with all of this. For the longest time, I thought you were just another one of their pawns."

"I was."

Their conversation again fell silent, too many things they both wanted to say but neither of them had the words.

"Wait, is that who we're looking for?" Logan turned to look at the sheet of paper on the door. It was written in a set of strange symbols, different than the ones that Virgil had seen on Logan's pill bottles but very similar none the less.

"Yes, it is, good catch." His eyes lit up as he put his hand on the lock.

"Thank you, now it's your turn to impress." Virgil gave him a smirk and Logan knew under other circumstances, or maybe in another life, that smirk would have him losing his breath. Now, however, was neither the time nor the place. He turned to the door seeing six deadbolt locks. Mother necessity didn't trust electronic locks. She understood the need and use of them, especially since her powers could create machines, but it was that same power that made her so paranoid. Logan could hack an electronic lock, but using his power to pick deadbolts was much easier.

When the last lock slid open Logan smile, turning the door handle. "Did I impress?" He asked with a bit of a smile, looking at Virgil only to receive an eye roll. It was good-natured though and for a moment it made Logan forget about the perilous situation they were in.

Only for a moment.

Virgil pushed passed Logan, playfully hitting his shoulder as he entered the room. The moment he entered, Logan heard him scream and watched him hit the floor, a needle sticking out of his neck as he writhed in pain.

The gunshot went off right after, before Logan even noticed it. He was thankful that his body reacted before his mind did. The bullet had been redirected with his powers, not a lot, he wasn't that quick, but enough that he knew he wouldn't die if he had time to treat his wound.

"You know, it was your mother's idea to not kill you right away?" That voice sent shivers down Logan's spine as he backed up out of the door and towards the wall. "She knew you would come, she knew you would bribe Deceit, after all, you are just like her." He held the gun towards Logan again. "She put me here, and your mother, your absolutely brilliant and beautiful mother, suggested that I shot you in the stomach, keep you out of the fight for good. If your lucky you might live long enough to watch your friend over there die." He smirked, watching as Logan slid down the wall holding his wound.

"I wish I could stay and watch, but I'll have to watch the recap, Roman has finally come home."

Logan's eyes filled with fear, genuine uncontrolled fear. How had they found out? Was it through Deceit? That was the only logical explanation. He felt the vial in his pocket, watching as Zero-Sum walked away. He could try to get out, use his prototype on one of the twins, make sure that they couldn't be used as pawns. Was Roman a lost cause? Had 17 years of isolation and planning all been for nothing?

Virgil's scream echoed through the corridor and Logan quickly turned to look at him. His body was becoming one with the shadows, falling apart and then stitching itself back together with black threads.

If he didn't do something now Virgil might die? Going through the power transformation once was almost too much for his body, Logan wasn't sure he would make it a second time. His mind was already made up. Pushing himself up off the floor Logan limped towards Virgil, using his powers to hold the bullet in place so that it didn't further damage his body. He would be fine once he got himself patched up.

"I'm sorry Virgil, I don't know what this will do, but it's my only option." He whispered, quickly stabbing the autoinjector into Virgil's leg. The screaming died down into soft sobs and Logan watched as Virgil's body began to settle onto this plane of existence. They needed to get out. He needed to get Virgil somewhere safe, but he had also promised to rescue Sleep. He couldn't carry them both on his own.

Suck it up, push forward. Logan forced himself to stand again, looking at Virgil still stuck on the floor. The shaking was lessening. It was just a prototype, he could only hope that Virgil would be okay, and if he wasn't in so much pain, he would probably be sick from nerves. Logan pushed his way towards the man sleeping on the bed. How had his father been this dumb? If he had switched the chart to a different room then Logan would never have found Sleep. His body would never have made it.

He had seen something like this before, a medically induced coma, though with his parents' special concoction of chemicals. He just needed to unhook the bags and sleep would wake up. Hopefully, he would be in a state to be able to help. Logan's breath was heavy as he slid against the wall. Anxiety was out of commission; he could barely move; Sleep was still unconscious. He should have planned for this. How was he going to manage to get them all to safety?

AN: Well, that was longer than normal. Next week we will check back in with Roman and see how he is coping with meeting Mother Necessity. Let me know if there was anything you think I could have improved on.