After enjoying a burger at The Burger Pit in Detroit's Business District, Hirostev walked down the block to Chalmers Park, one of Detroit's most famous and historical parks. He sat down on a bench and enjoyed the view of the beautiful historic homes and heard the laughter of kids playing in the park. Hirostev just needed a minute to breathe before getting back to the grind.

After 15 minutes of self-contemplation, Hirostev got up off the bench and walked off toward an officer he noticed to pickpocket.

Having just picked up some delicious looking hotdogs at a stand, Brass decided to sit down and dive into them on a nice park bench. 

It was really chilly and he didn't like the way the wind was messing up his hair. 

He hated anyone or anything touching his hair. 

But since he was so hungry, this was as good a place as any to eat. He ate the first dog and watched the people walking by. No one knew him in this city which was ok by him. 

He had to hop a flight home so he couldn't squander much time. But a couple of pretty ladies walked by and smiled at him just before a glob of mustard fell on his chin. Turning away from him, the ladies giggled and bumped shoulders. Brass grunted as he wiped his face clean with a fresh napkin from the bag. He didn't mind being laughed at but had that mustard landed on his shirt he would have been mad as hell. 

The leaves looked nice this time of year. Being a gangster, and seeing or doing heinous things, he made a point to find beauty where he could. Sometimes he would stare at blood spatterings and find designs of beauty in them. 

His mind had wandered so he scarfed down the last hotdog and looked at his watch. 

Now he was really thirsty and wished he had a soda. 

It had been quite a bit of time now since she had seen him. Was she actively avoiding him? No... but there was a part of her within that knew, things weren't right. They were like sparks in her mind, firing off randomly between all of the other things going on in her head. There were even a few moments, she thought about getting back on the pills. It was an internal battle that she almost lost... One that caused her a bit of personal harm. To say these past few weeks were the hardest of her life would have been false but it was up there.

Somehow she managed to hold her demons at bay, finding a way to hide them away. Tucking them in a corner of her head... they still found their way out from time to time but it was something that she had figured out how to manage, at least on her own. Knowing the next step of things was to reintroduce James into her life, he would be the true test.

She was nervous... excited but nervous to see him. It was a rather odd feeling, nothing of which she had ever truly felt. What it meant she had the slightest of ideas but knew it was something that she needed to see out. Would things stay in place? What she resort right back to where she was? Would she change even further? These were all questions that would soon be answered.

She came alone.. as usual. She was never one to have an entourage of people with her, generally it was just herself and whatever voice decided to speak up for the day. Dressed for the occasion, knowing all too well that Detroit this time of the year was going to be a bit brisk. She donned a pair of black pants, a black long sleeved shirt and a lightweight black jacket. Black was kind of her color, it matched rather well with her jet black long hair. It was straight, it was tamed, not a strand of it disheveled. It was something she made sure of prior to heading to the park.

The park itself seemed rather big... there were a few people enjoying the fall afternoon, none of which were James. They really hadn't settled on a time to met up, nor a place within the park to actually meet. So she found the most centrally located bench and took a seat. One that overlooked a field within the park, where a man was playing fetch with his dog.

She waited... hoping he would show up... if not she would understand why...  

Fucking christ. 

He'd been busy, it'd be a long thirty plus days. Perhaps he should have waited but then again, Anne always did have some sort of hold on him. He should have tried to cut her off sooner. 

Maybe she would have understood if he hadn't shown up but what was he doing now? Following like a cat following the yarn ball, sometimes he gave too much. 

One being Anne and he decided maybe the two could have a bit of a moment to themsevles. 

He tried. 

The diner had been a moment, but that changed. Why else had it changed? Well, she had left and now he sat here, a bit worried but he had saw her from a distance. 

There was quiet in the park and he found that he enjoyed it, the way these moments weren't meant to keep happening but here he was. 

It took a few steps before he had found himself above her. The way she looked up at him had been nice, for a moment he thought he should have read her but things changed. 

He wasn't the same old James and she wasn't the same old Anne, a month. 

A long trying month but here he knew what this was, what this moment was meant to be. 

"You look nice," James muttered. His eyes looked around the park before he pushed his fingers into his pockets as he sat down with some ease, his lips thinned and he sat down with a huff. 

"You know, you don't have to send me a letter halfway that sounds like you've not gotten used to be not being around as much as I should be." He smirked, his eyes finally glanced at her and roamed over her face. 

He hadn't needed to commit it to memory, he knew exactly what she looked like, her scent, her smiles, and just her. 

"So, how can I help or this one of those weird park dates that end in us arguing? Cause well, I'd like a hotdog before any arguments happen. So, come on, talk to me."

James hummed. He leaned back against the park bench as he glanced at the countless people. This, well, he'd be honest, it was fucking amazing.

A small smile crept onto the corner of her lips, when she heard his voice. It was reminiscent of the times they had prior, some good... some bad but it was exciting nonetheless. There was something different about him, he was calm... not the slightest abrasive whatsoever. It was odd, though she wasn't quite sure what she was expecting. Perhaps she was expecting things to ramp up as they have every time prior but thus was not the case. Things were mellow, things were quiet.

Really there wasn't anything in particular that she wanted to discuss, this wasn't a business visit. This was personal, this was for her. She had to know what he actually meant to her, what role he played within her life. The past month was good for her own reflection but there was always that piece missing. Was it him? Was it something completely different? This is what she really was here for... for answers to her own questions.

"Thank you..." Her voice tailed off, responding to his statement of her looking nice. She was glad he had noticed but did wonder if she hadn't put herself together if he would have given the same response. It didn't really matter but it was a thought that went through her head.

"You look.... different... good but different." Her voice soft and subtle.

There was something about his aura that had changed since they had last spoken at that diner. Even though they really didn't speak. It was a rather odd encounter, completely her doing... it wasn't a good day. Mentally she wasn't there, most of that day and the week after were a blur. She only remembered bits and pieces of it... none of which were good.

Completely disregarding his comment about the letter, she moved on to what he last said.

"I'm not here to argue and if you want to yell and holler at me, I will accept it." She took in a deep breathe before continuing. "I know I have done a lot of wrong and I know I can't promise perfection going forward... I'm just not wired that way but I need to know what this is." Her eyes jetted toward him before she looked down at herself. "I don't know if there's a definite answer but I know these past few weeks, I've been missing something..." 

Was it something or someone... this is what she was trying to figure out.

"Possibly, there's been some change," he knocked a little on his noggin as he gave her a small look. "From what I know we've had some goodd and fun times, I think you knew him as Logan."

He watched her for a second as he knew what might come. He didn't need to remind her so blatantly but he wasn't rude by any means, he knew what he was able to do as well. 

James was smart and he wasn't going to lose his shit, not like before, if Logan was back where he belonged, it needed to be this way. It needed to be calmed down at the very least. 

"He was amazing, I think you both had a thing. Something about intense psychical attraction, by that I mean you both fought people on a constant night out basis. I still have some of the scars." James chuckled as he scratched the back of his head when he thought about all those times as he focused on Anne for a second. 

He was glad that she was getting better but he didn't know how far he should talk to her about that. He needed things to be calmer, better than anything they could have known at any moment at least. 

"Ah, oh. Well, huh, that's a bit different. What exactly do you want to know between, well you know, us." He gestured between them both with a slick smile. His eyebrow perched a bit heavily before he found the way she looked back at him. It was just there, everything that came bit by bit and he laughed for a second. 

Maybe he could have said something that made this all better but he didn't know what to say. Contrary to popular belief, just because he was in the driver's seat didn't mean he knew everything. He knew some things and honestly, it was a bit difficult to understand everything that James felt towards a particular person. 

With Anne, there was just that feeling things weren't always the same and right here, right now, he'd known something as well. He just didn't understand it as perfectly. 

He looked away for a second as he stared ahead, maybe he could have told her a little bit. Maybe he could have said a few things, perhaps he should have. 

Hah, right. 

"Different? Come on, I don't look that different, but thanks, I guess. It's been a long time since we did something like this, honestly, it feels nice. I like it, you're- well, I've missed you, Anne." He reached out and took her hand in his for the moment, his lips stretched back into a smile as he let his head fall back as he glanced up to the sky. 

"But what, hm, what do you think you're missing besides that?"

He levelled her with a look and he squeezed her hand in his own, for the moment, for that second, it was just quiet. He loved it, fuck, it was enjoyable and that's all that mattered.

Her hand gripped his. She hadn't even realized how hard she was holding it until she felt the tip of her fingernails pushing into his hand. She didn't mean to do it, it wasn't something planned on doing... it was just something a bit natural with it. Not causing him pain but more so his grasp... it was comforting.

What was she missing?

That was truly the question at hand and she didn't know it, hence why she was here with him. Hoping that he would have some answers... not that he needed to have answers but she needed to know if he was the missing piece. Things had definitely felt different, just seeing him... just his presence around her was an indication that he played some sort of part in her life. Whether she wanted him to or not that was still to be decided but just him being her spoke a lot to her internally.

It didn't matter which one of him was currently in control, they both were different but still one of the same to her. Sure most people would have probably seen it differently but for her it was just a bit of normalcy.

"You do." She spoke while keeping her vision forward. "You look a lot different but it suits you well."

James Hmm'd... you could clearly hear that he didn't understand where she was coming from. To him he was still the same, physically that was.

"I can't explain it, it's just different... and maybe it's just how I see you now. I've done a lot of fighting within myself." She raised her free hand upwards placing the tips of her fingers on her temple before running them through her hair, tilting forward some and stopping when her temple reached her palm. As if she was holding her head in her own hand.

There was a lot of emotion within her tone, it was probably the first time she had ever he had ever seen this side of her. She wasn't hiding anymore... she wasn't protecting herself from whatever she thought she needed to protect.

"It's been hard..." She spoke softly downwards, still not making eye contact with him. Was she embarrassed? Perhaps... Was she happy? No... Was she lost? Yes... She was hoping he had something for her, good or bad... anything would have done.

"C'mere." James opened his arms and he knew that it would take seconds before she hummed, her eyes widened for a second before that classic scowl was on her face before she had begrudingly settled against his chest. He smirked for the moment as he wondered which part of him had howled, perhaps this was more than just fun, perhaps they had both needed this. It needed to be said, it needed to be had for both of them that they understood how much they needed the other. 

James wasn't a fool, shit, not by any means either. 

"I think, well, damn, I know that it has been hard on me too. In fact, I didn't know what to say here but I think I should. There's a reason why I look and probably feel so different." James cleared his throat as he levelled her with a look.

His lips thinned ever so slightly as he tilted his head forward and pecked her head. It was out of instinct, out of necessity when he chuckled to himself. 

"I lead a team now. A research facility determined to find things out, we operate in Las Vegas and it's been a trying time. Honestly, it's difficult being a leader. Being someone that people look at for guidance, for wealth of knowledge, for understanding what this means essentially." James bowed his head, his eyes narrowed for the slightest second.

He felt different, if he was completely honest. 

It felt like he had to make sure that something, that anything was a lot more worse than he could ever understand. 

"Besides, we had a dinner we had to get to. I think they're still waiting, a banquet in Las Vegas. Something about a Governor, but I think that can wait for now. I'd like to make sure that you're okay, and I'd like you to know that I can protect you, better than you know."

It was his softness, the wink he gave her in response as James grinned and let his head fall back with a careful snort. 

He wondered how far they could enjoy this, when it came to them, something always decided to fuck with them and if the universe wasn't careful, it'd find itself slaughtered...

His warmth was immediate, in that moment the crisp fall day felt no more... It felt like a warm spring day, the sun beating upon her face. She closed her eyes and could hear what she though were chirps of birds trying to find nesting places. Taking a rather large breath, she slowly opened up her eyes. Sure the sun was shining upon her but there were no birds, in fact the sounds she had heard was actually the thumps of his heart beating within his chest.

"Leading a team, it suits you." She spoke while still leaning upon him. "It doesn't surprise me, if I'm to be honest... I figured it was just a matter of time."

Lifting her head off of him and pushing back slightly, she finally was able to look him in the eyes. They were strong, they were piercing through her but in the same aspect they were soft and welcoming. The look from his gaze alone was different, it was in that moment she felt comfortable... comfortable enough to divulge some information he probably wasn't going to be pleased with.

The smirk upon he face turned flat, her eyes somber.

"What?" He instantly knew there was something, it was evident upon her face. He pulled away a few inches, she could see his eyes looking her up and down.

"Things were bad..." She gulped and took another deep breath.

"Okay... I feel like you're trying to get something across here... I need you to just come out with it." His tone a bit more stern.

"So you remember the day at the diner?"

"How could I not? You were yammering about something, you were very incoherent and then got up and walked off. By the time I got up to follow you, you had disappeared." 

"Yeah, I don't recall a lot of it but there was one moment I do remember."

Anne pushed up the sleeve on her left arm, her palm facing downward. Slowly turning it over, exposing a healing wound that encompassed the entirety of her wrist. 

James looked down, looked up towards her and then back down on her wrist.

"What in the fucking hell is that?"

A tear began forming in the corner of her eye then slowly trickled down her cheek.

He calmed himself down. It wasn't anything he hadn't seen before; it's why he found himself remembering what Charles said. Leading a team or leading a force was just not militaristic; it was emotional and mental. You would trust people to have your best interests at heart, and in return, you would learn if they had the same for you.

Either you would before it was time for you to be gone from the world or they would be the ones that wanted you gone from the world, it was difficult to place. It was horrid to understand, and it was a time where things became intricately wound together in chaos.

You could thrive in it for a time, but peace was all-encompassing, and James had to realise there was none for Anne. She had taken herself to the limit, and he hadn't seen it until it was too late.

So he sighed, he took breath after breath as he calmed, as he made himself a complete system of nerves that pumped together with ease. It was almost difficult to place what she meant for him, what she meant for his role in everything.

He hated her, he loved her, and he envied her. To have control and to thrive in losing it, but this was different, this was more than chaos. It was hurt, it was pure lash after lash, she was difficult to understand, and he had hissed to himself.

A chuckle, bitter and broken, croaked out from his throat as he looked down at the mark that told him everything and nothing at the same time. He thought the universe had another moment where someone would hurt them, and fuck was it true.

Yet, he had never pictured that it would be her. He never pictured that Anne would hurt herself and that was what made him question everything.

"How long?" James gave her a look and levelled her with his hard gaze. His voice hadn't broke anymore, instead he was softer than he had ever been with Jean. "And why? What happened?" 

He never asked what's wrong, he never needed to know because he understood something had happened but he had made sure to give her that moment. That platform, she could talk to him. 

"I'm here, Anne. I'm here and I'm not going, so let's talk, let's understand each other, okay? Just talk." He kissed her cheek, his words just rested on her ears as he hummed to her as he held onto her arms tightly. It was necessary. 

She needed to know, she needed to see that he was here now and nothing would ever stop him from making sure that she was better. That she would nort hurt herself again.

It now felt like summer, she was cooking alive in her jacket... A jacket that she was unbuttoned and slide off her shoulders, leaving it rest behind her. It felt better without it on but she was still rather hot, though she knew that had nothing to do with the weather itself but the conversation that they were having. It was hard for her being as vulnerable as she was being... hell outside of medical personnel, James was the first and only person to know and see what she had shown him.

"After the diner..." She paused. "Honestly not sure what happened the next few hours after that. Only thing I remember was standing in the shower. The warm water dripping down my body, down my arms and down my fingertips. I just remember the red streaming off it them, watching it rush down the drain." She paused again. "I'm not going to lie, that was the most peaceful my mind has ever been... I remember the silence... I couldn't even hear the sounds of the water. It was nice."

Reaching over with her right hand, she began to roll her sleeve back down but was abruptly stopped by James who now had softly grabbed a hold of the top side of her wrist, flipping it back over so he could have another look at it. He softly ran his thumb of the scabbing. It was still rough, still healing... the scar had yet to even form but it was healing nicely.

"The other one too?"

Anne shook her head softly from side to side as a few more tears streamed down her cheeks. She hadn't gotten to the other one before she actually came to.

"I think it gave me a sense of clarity but I'm still not okay... I'm scared." There it was.... the vulnerability was maxed out. There was no coming back from it now, he was either going to look down on her or be that missing piece she was seeking out. There wasn't going to be any sort of middle ground. 

Clarity. 

A sense of peace.

Fuck. 

He understood it and he hated that he understood so easily, because he knew where she was headed. 

Where she wanted to be and honestly, it could have been fun. It could have been different. 

Instead, James realised why Xavier had taught him and Scott leadership and why they needed to be one of the best people to lead their own Forces. Of course this was different but in truth, Anne was one of his. There was no way about that, it didn't matter where she was, she was his. The person that made this fun again, to be himself, and he would be damned if he found that she was about to be something else. About to be a note for others to not be, to not follow, well fuck no. He needed to make sure she was safer than ever and he hadn't even realised what he had done in that second. 

He chuckled to himself, he found himself having a bit of fun if he was honest. She needed him and he decided to make sure she got exactly that. James stood up and offered her his hand as she struggled to her feet, before she even had another moment, he had carried her bridal style with ease as he walked around the park. 

"Now, listen. It's okay, you know why? Everyone gets scared, that's who we are, we're not stone, me and you. We're not images or two people, we're multi-people sharing a body, and I think all that time you had for yourself is what made this a difficult reality. So, be scared, be worried, but don't ever hurt yourself again." 

James had muttered that finally. His lips licked ever so slightly before he looked down at her with a sigh. "Anyhow, I don't think you realise how much some of us need you. Anne, you're so different but come on. I think you need to understand that this, yes, us, you're not going anywhere!" He hissed as he continued to walk before he held her tighter and stood in one spot before he glanced down at her with his head bowed in her direction. 

"Come on, you didn't think I would leave, did ya?" He smirked as he looked deeply into her eyes, she had to know that she was stuck with him for a long while now.

Placing her down once he got his point across, Anne wrapped her arms around him. It was exactly what she needed, that missing piece was exactly what she thought it was. It was him… things felt right. Letting go of him, Anne brushed the waterlines off her cheeks. It felt good to shed those tears, it felt even better that she wasn’t judged for it. 

“I don’t know how to control it, I thought I did… I thought I had it where I needed it but I was way off.” She rolled her sleeve back down and placed her hands to her side. Her once straight perfectly place strands of hair now messy. The streaks of makeup followed the tears down her cheeks. She was a mess not only on the inside but on the outside as well.

”And you don’t have to lie to me, you don’t need me… I mean look at you. The things you’ve done when I wasn’t in the picture. Leading your own team, your own place. You don’t need me and it’s okay.” She gave him a soft smirk. “But that being said, I need…” She paused, the words were hard to finish. She had lived her entire life up to this point not relaying on anyone, maintained herself, kept herself away from needing anyone but things have changed.

”Need what?” He gave her that look, knowing all too well what she was going to say but wanted to actually here it from her. 

“I think you know, do I really need to say it?”

"I think it's best that you do, if I'm honest. Why shouldn't you be honest with yourself?" There was a lightness in James that only seemed to find itself here, in this moment, with her. 

If he were honest, he wondered why, but he hadn't imagined it too well. Instead, he allowed himself that little gasp. A breath or two—perhaps he should have seen it differently.

All those times they fought, they had got to know one another, a difference is that he had not followed after. For so long he hadn't been there, and she was left alone.

Should he have felt shame? Perhaps but he also felt a horrid sense of belonging, a right to have her right here. Well, yes, he was fucked up.

To have need of her, to make sure she knew that he wasn't about to leave her alone again. Maybe he was the wrong one, maybe he had always been the wrong one and had simply hid it better.

Maybe Xavier was wrong, even that was trouble, he hadn't yet visited his home. Yes, New York, perhaps he should have felt better about it all. Only, he hadn't, instead there was this feeling that all he had done was delay what was inevitable about all of this. 

"Come on, I'm here and I'm not about to heading away," James rushed his fingers across her face as he held onto her tightly. His eyes narrowed on her before he leaned forward and kept her close, for the moment, he wanted this. No, he needed this. 

"So, tell me, just speak. I don't think I'll ever get enough of your voice."

He smirked, he had fun, he cared about her and that's all. He knew she needed him and he, well, fuck. James loved that, maybe just a bit too much.

For as long as she could remember, she had always been independent... never needed to depend on anyone but herself, it's what kept her alive all this time. Sure the pills had played their part too but they had kept the real her at bay, made her someone that she wasn't... even though they kept her straight and level headed. They did a lot of good... at least that's what everyone used to tell her... but there was always something off.

It took quite some time to get to this point, there was a lot of spiraling. Weening herself off of those pills, years of pent up confusion within her mind came spilling out within the past few months. Almost costing her, her own life.. at her own hands. Rock bottom, hell if there was some stage even below that, she was there... it was bad. Luckily, she was self mending.

This... this was now part of that. She needed that connection with someone, she needed to feel wanted. There was no more just her, she wouldn't be able to survive. Not unless those pills came back into the picture, which was something she didn't want to resort back to.

"You..." She muttered the single word.

It was the realization that he was the only person to ever be able to keep her grounded. She wasn't completely sure why or how but there was just something she was drawn to. Something within him that made her obedient to some extent... Not even her own family managed to keep a hold of her... even with the pills. Him though... it was... she didn't know.

"See was that so hard." He spoke in a softer tone.

In fact it was rather hard, it was the first time that she had ever openly spoke words such as those. Even if it were just one simple word, that one word spoke more than any other word or group of words could have said.

Taking in a deep breathe. Anne leaned back and smirked.

"Actually it was." It wasn't a lie, she was being rather honest with him. "I feel better though, almost as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders... this was right." She paused.

There was an almost eerie silence in the park. It was probably just her drowning out all the sounds but it made her rather uncomfortable. Her eyes jetted past him, from the left side of him to the right side.

"Do you hear that?" She could see James narrow his brow a bit.

"Hear what? I don't hear anything..."

"Exactly... why is it so quiet?"

With her question, he hadn't exactly questioned that either. For a second, it had got a bit silent and he looked from corner to corner. He shook his head, he could have sworn that there were people there, 

"I'm not too sure." James muttered as held Anne closer and for a second, he thought he could have felt some peace. Something that made this a little different but that couldn't have been it. 

It was annoying. 

James looked at what he could see, the small things that made this worse. He could feel it on the back of his neck, these things weren't easy by any means. 

He chuckled to himself in that moment and turned his eyes to sweep across the park as he decided to take ahold of Anne's hand. His fingers interlocked with hers as he started to take her away. 

Maybe this was just his mind playing tricks with him. He wanted it to be that, to make sure things weren't that bad but something warned him that just something was wrong. 

He sighed to himself, it couldn't be bad, could it?

"Don't worry about it, whatever it is, we'll be fine. I promise, come on, let's go get some hot dogs. There's that vendor right there, maybe he knows where everyone else went..." James smiled down at her with a carful smile, his eyes burned ever so slightly. 

He felt it, the way something just seemed to crowd around him as he saw the shadows. The way some things just seemed to be at the corner of his mind. 

He shissed slightly as he held onto her hand tighter. 

He didn't need this to be ruined and he'd protect her, honestly, that's all that mattered at the end of the day.

Leading her away towards that hotdog vendor, they turned the corner. You could smell the dirty hot dog the moment you turned that corner, it just has a certain smell to it. One that she isn't the most fond of, actually it's rather off putting to her. The cart was there standing alone there was no one manning it, though it was evident that someone had just been. The smells, the steam rising from above the metal compartments... even a random hotdog sitting in a bun... steam once again coming off of it. 

Her heart sank... this wasn't right... everything within her core was telling her that she needed to get out of here. They had no advantage here... they were in a middle of a park in a city they weren't overly familiar with. At least she wasn't...

"We need to go." She tugged on his hand, pulling him to a halt. "This isn't right." It was almost as if her sense heightened. The smell were more predominant than they were just a moment prior. Her vision much more clear and her hearing on point. There was an unnatural sound of a stick snapping in the near distance... her eyes peered in that direction.

A piece of a shadow could be seen peeking out from behind a tree about 20 feet behind the hotdog cart. Goose bumps instantly formed on the back of her neck. Her eyes shifted to James and with a subtle tug of his hand, he looked down towards her. There were no words... she looked at him and towards the tree... with a subtle head nudge, she directed his gaze in that direction.

"We need to go." She spoke again, a bit more worrisome tone in her voice. 

He grabbed her with quickness; his eyes looked over at the hot dog vendor as he tilted his head off to the side. The way that looked was difficult before he heard it, the rush of footsteps as he heard the tell-tale click clack of loafers on cobblestone as he heard the cocking of a pistol as numerous ones from either side of the park took aim at his person. 

They looked at him with sadness in his eyes and that's when James saw one of them, the way they seemed to be so sad as he cried out a name before the first shatter of his eardrums. 

"Scott-"

Fire. 

Flash. 

Pain. 

They were quick as his body rocked to the side as he pushed Anne away, they weren't even focused on her. They wanted him and he smiled at her, he sent her that look of pure love in his eyes. To know that he was grateful for her all these years. His eyes burned with complete satisfaction that he had known as the shots continued. 

Fire.

Flash.

Pain. 

Shot after after had rocked his body to the floor. His eyes widened at the pain, he realised they had really gone all out as his body faced the sky as the shots, the shattering of his eardrums stopped as he heard it. The footsteps came towards his head as he looked up and saw Summers glance down at him with a tired smirk on his face. 

"I'm sorry, Logan. You were just too damn useful for your own good, Xavier sends his regards." It's only there that everything went black as the flash of Scott's gun went off in his face as James' head slumped back. 

It was quick but what came next was that silence, that ever gnawing silence as James swore he heard them talk as well. The way they continued when the click clack of their loafers went quieter and quieter. 

"What do we do about the girl, Scott? She's a witness, and she's, well, we know what they are right now." Another spoke, her voice curious and worried for whatever may come next. It was obvious but Scott laughed as his pistol seemed to cock in his hands, almost like a warning. 

"Don't worry about her, Xavier says he has plans for her. However, Logan is done, and whatever force he was working up is over as well. I don't want to hear about him again. Let's get back to New York people." 

Scott and his hit squad of twelve soldiers walked away. It wasn't normal, but that's how the X-Force rolled and it didn't seem like it would stop, by any means. 

James Howlett, also known as Logan, was dead...

The sounds, the commotion... it all happened so quickly and then there was silence once again. She could hear the muffled sounds of voices around her as she sat there on the ground. How she had even gotten down there she didn't in the slightest remember. Her vision now faded, only seeing shapes. Black dark shapes... surrounding her...

There was more mumbling... nothing of which she could make out. It was almost as if her mind made sure to drown out everything, just keeping itself focused on not doing anything brash. Taking in a few shallow breathes, before finally slowing herself down. Closing her eyes to basically reset herself. There was little emotion... only anger, displease as she opened her eyes. The dark shapes were now clear...

Her eyes jetting back and fourth from person to person, committing each one of them to her memory. Now she hadn't planned on doing anything but thus wasn't the case. She sprung up from the ground, her focus in front of her. The rage built up inside of her. With a blink of her eyes there was nothing.... no one...

Her mind had played tricks on her, she had lost track of time.... Where was she? What happened? Looking downward, expecting to see James lying in a pool of blood... there was once again nothing. Just a plain white flooring, no signs of anything. She focused once again... The park... The trees.... they were no where to be seen. Just four white walls... one of which with a single pane of glass, just small enough to see out of.

Sitting back down, Anne curled her knees up to her chest and sunk her head into them. Knowing all too well where she was but not knowing if what she remembered actually happened.