The Universe's Mixer

There were things that Mel had explored and then experimented with that she knew she had to tell Pam about. Her agreement with Pam and Eric had been that she could continue to live, and continue to be among them, as long as they didn't find her to be any real threat. As long as she kept herself in check and they felt like she wasn't going to be a danger to them.

Mel had known instinctively that this meant that they might not like the idea of her being able to stop kinetic energy as she had with Logan. Her other risk was that she knew now that she could easily heal a bullet wound and wanted to know if she could heal more. She didn't know if Logan would be willing to go exactly as far as she wanted to go with it, and she couldn't ask Pam. She didn't want to reveal anything until she knew everything.

There was the kinetic energy, there was the healing, and there was that blast of energy that she had let go of. That was really something.

Her mind was reeling over the implications of her powers as she walked. She wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings, so when she felt the presence of the undead, Mel found herself a bit startled. The signature was familiar, though, and she relaxed.

"John?" She said it softly, knowing that he could likely hear it clear as day.

They had never really set a spot in which to perform this test but Logan had enough smarts to know that a thing of this caliber warranted all of the privacy that could be had. That was why Logan had chosen a secluded grove off toward the outskirts of the main parts of the town, closer to that creepy wall than he'd ever like to be. The energy it gave off didn't settle well with him, he hated the way it coursed over his skin. But he had made a promise to the young mutant and he was a man of his word. He hated everything that the barrier stood for and if he had the opportunity he would have torn the thing apart.

Logan had never mentioned Melody to Giselle. He didn't want the woman to worry about anything or try to interfere. This all could go so awry and Logan did not want Giselle caught up in the action. He didn't tell her where he was, or any thing remotely close to what he currently was planning. There were only three people that knew what the situation called for. Himself, Melody and the woman Logan had brought with him.

The prospect of finding the perfect candidate had not been a difficult one. The young woman he had happened upon was terminally ill, a brain tumor was growing at an alarming rate within the cerebral tissue beneath her skull. It had already produced a lesion the size of a golf ball which was visible if looked at from the right side. The patient had no family, she was by herself. She was perfect.

Logan had brought the patient to the scrap of land when Melody was ready, and once they had arrived Logan texted the young mutant to give her the location. The wind blew around him as he texted. He hated texting. It was pointless. Or maybe he was just old-fashioned. And what the fuck was a selfie?

Shaking his head, Logan punched in the last of the sentence, and sent it to Mel. He snapped the cell phone shut and shoved it into a pocket. It sat gently against the revolver that already had been in the clothed depths. It had been so long since he had used a gun, Logan normally was more hands on when it came to fighting but the point was to see how Melody held up to the bullets. So he had bought a gun and brought it with him. He had not dilvulged that information to the terminal girl, she didn't need to know all of that.

"Where are we?" The young woman asked, looking around at the place. It was quaint for a death scene. "Won't be too much longer now. I promise."

The bloodlust of one City resident had fueled the addiction of another.

Melody had felt the incredible deaths at the hands of another and had followed it closely. It had swelled up inside of her like sweet ecstasy, flowing over her skin and making her slightly delirious. She hadn't realized that it had been Aidan until long after. Days and days after. Not until she'd had time to sit down and mentally sort through what she'd experienced.

Aidan, boyscout as he was, had killed a lot of people. His particular flavor was all over the trail of bodies she'd followed, not that she'd given much of a crap at the time. She'd just absorbed every bit of what he'd let out. Soaking up the energies of the dying. Wrapping herself up in it.

When she'd come out of her fugue, Mel had realized that things had changed. Important things. The castle wasn't as filled with vampires as it had been. They were missing a Pam and an Eric. The taste of those that were left was familiar - and not. She'd gotten used to them all, and now it was... well. It was weird.

Spent from long nights in morbid revel, Melody sought out the bedchamber of her vampire. She figured that eventually Pam - whichever Pam it was, in whatever state - would turn up and let her know what the situation would be from here on out.

Building a gym was no easy feat. Logan had taken on the task because it was necessary. Everyone that possessed skills beyond normal human range deserved a place to release stress. He designed to place to withstand those that were heavy hitters, the ones that could take strong blows, who were capable of dishing out a lot of power. Not just physical power, either. There were all types of power in this world. Logan wanted nobody left out of the know when the time came that they began to spread it. Well, he didn't want humans to know. But anyone else was fine.

There were a lot of mutants in The City, a lot of their old breed of X-Men were running about. Logan knew the ones that had come from the Savage World, and he had been aware of the ones that weren't. He knew about the phone book, and the Directory. He knew Melody was in town but he had been so busy with Giselle and constructing his gym. He hadn't been keeping track of Laura or Megan, either. Both girls were fine on their own without him, and he knew that if they did need him....well, they knew how to get in touch.


He had yet to find a name for his construct, he hadn't really found anything that he had liked. Of course, there was one name that had a ring to it.... The name of Giselle's home. It sounded peaceful and welcoming, which was what Logan wanted out of his own place. If he thought about it, he would ask her if he might use it. If she wouldn't let him, he would understand but he had a feeling she would delight in the small request. Just the thought of her delighted and smiling warmed him.

Logan might have been smiling absently like a dummy again. He had to stop doing that in public.

Shaking off the feeling, Logan proceeded down the sidewalk, heading for the hardware store. He needed to gather a few things to put the finishing touches on the nameless gym. Absently he was curious to see how Giselle's mural was going. Perhaps he would pick up some supplies for her too.

But his thoughts de-railed at a familiar smell surrounding him. It was the smell of death, a scent Logan knew and one that often got his blood churning. But this odor was different. It had a living essence to it. And it brought a small smile to his lips. "Melody."

Melody had no idea how the hell she'd gotten to a city, she was just overjoyed that she had. There was a brief panic that she'd come alone, without anybody she knew, but she'd closed her eyes and looked inward. Pam was there, inside of her, and it called to the vampire somehow. Pam was here in this city as well.

There were cars!

There were shops with pretty little useless baubles!

Clothing stores!

Restaurants!

A hot dog cart!

Melody stopped at the last one, digging through her pockets frantically. These weren't her clothes, even though they fit her wonderfully. She'd woken up in an apartment that wasn't hers, too. Nobody had shown up to kick her out, so she'd stayed. She'd grabbed a handful of change from the counter, the street urchin in her kicking in automatically. That's what she dug for now. She was going to have a hot dog. No! A polish sausage! No! Kielbasa! With everything on it! And a big ice-filled bubbly soda to wash it down with.

She wanted to find Pam, of course. To see if Eric was here, too. And John. And Aidan. Their little weirdo family. She was just a little too overjoyed at not being in a shithole, dealing with starving people and unnatural world occurrences that she couldn't quell the excitement enough to think. Once she'd eaten, it would be better.