Into the light -274

It didn't take Logan long to figure out that Peggy hadn't been messing with him. While he didn't go outside, he did attempt to contact the night guards and found nothing—no responses. Not a single one of them replied. Only the people who were inside during the night seemed to respond, which made him far more cautious than usual.

Logan was rarely the cautious type. With his healing factor and adamantium-laced skeleton, he had never been someone easily rattled or afraid to face trouble head-on. Yet, something about the eerie silence from the guards stationed outside unsettled him in a way few things ever did.

Instead of storming out, as his instincts urged him to do, Logan took a moment to assess. If what Peggy had said was true—if the sun and even the moonlight had turned into a death sentence—charging out there wouldn't help anyone. He wasn't invincible, no matter how often he survived the impossible. This wasn't something he could slash through with his claws.

He muttered a curse under his breath and changed course, heading toward Jean's room. Waking her made more sense than dragging the Professor out of much-needed rest. Charles had been struggling since the attack on the school, weighed down by the guilt of the students they had lost. Logan had noticed the way Charles flinched at every reminder of their absence, a pain the telepath couldn't shake. Better to leave him be, at least for now.

Logan's mind wandered briefly to his own methods of coping. The bottle. He reached for it more often these days, using it to dull the sharp edges of guilt and loss—haunting memories of the ones he couldn't save. He never expected to be a teacher, never thought he'd grow attached to those kids. But their deaths had hit him harder than any physical blow ever could.

He found Jean's door and knocked softly before pushing it open. She was a light sleeper—always had been. Within moments, Jean stirred, rubbing her eyes as she blinked up at Logan in confusion.

"Logan? What's going on?" she asked, her voice still thick with sleep.

"We got a problem," Logan said, his tone serious. "It's not just me being paranoid this time. I think the guards outside… they're gone. Something's happened. Peggy told me somethin' crazy, I need you to verify what she said."

Jean immediately picked up on Logan's urgency and sat up straighter, brushing the sleep from her mind. Her brows furrowed in concern. "What did she say?"

Logan crossed his arms, the tension rolling off him in waves. "She said the sun's gone rogue. Sunlight—and even moonlight—are deadly. People exposed to it are… melting, turning into something else. Some kind of wax monsters. The guards outside ain't responding."

Jean blinked, the enormity of what Logan was saying hitting her like a truck. "The sun and moon... killing people? That's insane."

"Trust me, I thought the same thing," Logan replied, his gruff voice low. "But something's definitely wrong. I need you to check if you can feel anyone outside, and well if you can't you got to wake and warn the others."

Jean didn't need further prompting. She swung her legs off the bed, sitting up as she closed her eyes, focusing on her telepathic abilities. Logan stayed quiet, watching her intently as she delved into the mental plane, reaching out with her mind to locate the guards who had once been stationed outside.

Moments passed in silence. Jean's brow furrowed deeper as she pushed further, searching for any signs of life.

Finally, her eyes snapped open, filled with a mix of shock and dread. "Logan… I can't sense them. there is something, but it's not human, it might be those wax monsters; their thoughts are so… alien, hard to figure out, but they feel hostile."

Logan cursed under his breath, his worst fears confirmed. "Damn it."

Jean stood up quickly, her face a mask of focused determination now that she understood the gravity of the situation. "We need to act fast. If the sunlight and moonlight are lethal, we can't let anyone leave the building. I'll alert the others telepathically, but we need to physically secure the entrances, after all those monsters might try and get in if we don't get out."

Logan nodded, the sense of urgency palpable now. "Yeah, we need to lock down this place tighter than ever. I'll head down to the entrances and make sure they're sealed up. Get everyone away from the windows too—just in case." His mind was already racing, thinking of the layout of the building.

The command center was mostly just metal, with no real windows or anything, but the same wasn't the case for the rest of Ironwood. Most of them were just normal houses, many of which had windows.

There wasn't much he could do about that, but hopefully, Jean could warn people before it was too late.

Jean wasted no time. As Logan left to secure the entrances, she focused her telepathic abilities again, sending a clear, urgent message to everyone in Ironwood. Stay inside. Avoid all windows and exposure to light. Sunlight and moonlight are now deadly. Do not leave your homes. Lock your doors and cover your windows. This is not a drill. Repeat, stay inside and cover all windows.

The urgency of her message rang through every mind she reached, making sure that even the most skeptical among them would take heed. She couldn't afford anyone questioning the situation—it was far too dangerous for that. After finishing the mental sweep, Jean rose from her bed, adrenaline surging through her now. The magnitude of what they were dealing with was becoming clear, and there wasn't a moment to lose.

Meanwhile, Logan sprinted down the corridors, his boots echoing against the cold metal floor as he headed to the main entrance. He cursed silently as his mind continued to process the bizarre situation they were in. Wax monsters? Sunlight and moonlight killing people? It sounded like something out of one of their worst missions, but this time, there didn't seem to be an easy solution—no enemy to fight or some simple problem to fix.

Reaching the main doors, Logan quickly secured them, double-checking the locks and wedging heavy objects against them for added security. The reinforced steel would help, but with the strange things happening outside, he couldn't be sure of anything.

The first to come running was none other than Storm; she was often awake at night, often spending time outside; Logan was glad to see she hadn't been doing that today.

Storm rushed into the corridor, her normally calm and collected demeanor replaced by a sense of urgency. Her eyes darted around, taking in the sight of Logan securing the entrance. "Logan, what's going on? Jean's message was cryptic, but I could tell it was serious."

Logan glanced over his shoulder, relieved to see her unharmed. "It's worse than we thought, 'Ro. Sunlight and moonlight are deadly. Anyone exposed turns into… something else. Peggy warned me, Jean confirmed. The guards outside? They're gone."

Storm's expression darkened as she processed the information. "Deadly light…"

Logan didn't blame her for being out of it; after all, she was normally someone in turn with nature, and now she was faced with something so unnatural that it was truly hard to believe.

"Well, nothing much we can do right now; I figure we go to the conference room, talk about things, maybe we can come up with some kind of plan or something." Logan knew he wasn't the smart type, so he didn't even bother pretending that he would come up with a solution.

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While the people of Ironwood were coming to terms with their new world reality, the members of the Foundation had been flying in mostly silence towards their base camp.

As they landed, 2 stood up by the door. "Alright, I got some information, firstly, we are apparently safe in the camp, though, Banner, you aren't allowed to be the one to test that, So I need someone to volunteer."

Banner, sitting stiffly in his seat, glanced up at 2, his expression a mixture of concern and confusion. "What do you mean by 'safe'? I thought the world was ending?"

2 shrugged slightly, his demeanor calm despite the unsettling circumstances. "Apparently we have small scale ways of dealing with the situation, I don't get it, only know what I was told."

Banner rubbed his temples, feeling the weight of the situation press down on him. "So, we're just supposed to trust that? We don't even fully understand what's going on out there."

2 crossed his arms. "That's the way things are around here. Now, I need someone, so who is brave enough? Or do I have to pick someone?"

The atmosphere in the jet was thick with tension as 2's words hung in the air. Banner exchanged a look with Peggy, the uncertainty palpable. Steve and Bucky, standing near the door, glanced at each other, both silently volunteering without needing to say a word.

"I'll do it," Steve said firmly, stepping forward before anyone else could react.

Peggy looked ready to object, but a long look from Steve made her remain silent.

With their chosen member, Bucky stepped away, everyone did. Leaving only Steve standing around in front of the door. 2 then opened it up, but just as the door started opening, Bucky stepped back in, pushing Steve out of the way of the incoming wave of light.

As the wave hit Bucky, he couldn't help but raise an arm up to shield his face, as he let out a pained sound, making everyone worried and slightly panicked that it didn't work; even 2 pointed his palms and the cannons of his suit towards him.

A/N

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