Finally a Past
Part Three
By Alicia Campbell

"So, how long ago did you, um.." Jean sought for a civil way to put it.

"Get separated from my brother? He was gone before I was born. He was stolen from my mother in the hospital. She could never find him. She didn't know who'd do such a thing. Or why. I vowed a long time ago to find him and end her life-long worry about him."

"What if he's dead?" Rogue wanted to end this now, before her gut feeling came true.

"Rogue!" Jean exclaimed.

"Wow, I hope someone does this for me someday. Come searching the whole world looking for me... Wow." Jubilee's expression turned to daydreaming as she thought of the parents who'd abandoned her at birth.

Jean smiled at her. "We'll do everything we can to help you, Crystal. I promise."

"Thank you, Jean." Crystal gave her a warm smile.

"Storm!" Rogue called.

"She's outside with..." Jean gave Rogue a knowing smile.

"Good, Ah was counting on it." She hurried outside.

Meanwhile, Jean introduced everyone to Crystal and explained her plight. She finished with, "And we thought Cerebro could help identify her brother."

"What a wonderful idea, Jean. Come right this way Crystal." The Professor led Crystal into the main computer room. There he fed her picture into Cerebro's database. It took a few minutes, before a picture began materializing on the screen. When it finished, every mouth in the room dropped open.

Rogue stood by Ororo and Wolverine, in the back of the room. Logan's close likeness started back at them from Cerebro's screen.

"Andrew?" Crystal slowly came over, an amazed look on her face.

"The name is Wolverine, lady." He picked at his teeth with a claw.

She stared at him with a half suspicious, half-amazed look. "Could it really be you? And you lived in Canada?" Her accent was close to his, though they did not match. "All this time and you weren't that far away?"

Wolverine just narrowed his eyes and considered the possibilities. This could be a dream come true. Wolverine had no knowledge of his past, thanks to the government that he'd once worked for. He'd been fed lies upon lies to keep him confused and off-balance. Some he still hadn't sorted out. However, he'd always wanted to know... but he couldn't let that cloud his judgment now. He couldn't just trust this woman on blind hope. That got people killed. Besides, Rogue didn't trust her.

"Andrew, er, Wolverine. I'm Crystal. I'm your little sister. I.." she choked up. So she pulled out her purse and dug out several pictures of herself and an older woman. She also showed him the young picture of himself.

Wolverine just studied them all.

"Um, your given name is Andrew Logan Chacer." He raised an eyebrow at the middle name. That would be logical, give him a name he knows, but not one that will help him locate his past.. He cursed people who liked to play God. "My name is Crystal Erica Chacer. Our mother is Melissa Christine. Our father.. he died a few years ago.. was Steven Andrew." Her eyes clouded with tears. "He was a good man. They both loved you dearly. They tried to find you.. I've spent most of my adult life trying to track you down. I had heard clues.. This place, was where I was coming. I had heard that here was a database that had ever mutant in the world. I was going on blind luck that you'd be a mutant too. Mom and I are. Mother has the gift of sight. She can see things miles and miles away, or she can see things that are so tiny others need microscopes to see them. My gift isn't so useful. I can control water." To demonstrate, she dipped her hand into the sink and ran some water. Then she formed the water into a bubble. She tossed it into the air and caught it. She dropped the water back into the sink and it splashed down the drain. "There is so much I have to tell you. Please, can we go and talk somewhere? Brother."

As all the X-Men exchanged looks ranging from disbelief to happiness, Wolverine nodded. He had to hear her out. He owed himself that. As he walked out, Jean and Charles spoke to each other.

< Professor, what do you think? Isn't this wonderful for Logan?>

< I can only pray that this is the truth. For his sake. Another lie would hurt him terribly.>

< I know. But with all this information.. And I sense no malicious feelings from her, or untruth. Besides, Wolverine can tell when people lie to him. You know that.>

< It is true that she seems genuine. Let us hope.> The Professor's eyes watched one of his most fragile students follow a dream. Logan had never had a chance or a choice. He deserved the truth. Finally. Wolverine led Crystal out to his room.