The blackbird touched down in a clearing, it's engines caressing the night with a soft glow before fading away. Some distance away, a lone figure waited and watched as the x-men made their way down the ramp away from the heart of their ship.

"Ghost leader, the x-men have arrived, counting 4 contacts. Proceed with phase two immediately. EVACs in fifteen minutes." The lone figure got ready to leave with his part already done, all he could hope for now was that his lover manage to accomplish hers.

"Phase two under way, Ghost 2,3 and 4 are moving to intercept. Don't worry sugah, Ah always keep ma promises." The voice at the other end of the Shadow's link said in the sexy drawl that she had. That voice was partly why he couldn't keep her away at first and the more he heard it, the more he became a slave to her voice. When she returned his affection, he completely gave in.

"Good luck Ghost leader, and come back to me...." With that Shadow vanished into the night, trusting her with her ability.

---

"I smell four of them heading this way." Logan growled under his breath. Finally he would get his chance to find out what happened to his charge and love and then they would pay dearly for what they did to Marie ... he thought.

"Remember, we stick to the plan this time ... what ever happens the reactor core is our main concern. If we loss this one, we can kiss our loved ones good bye for good." Cyclops said to his fellow x-men. "Storm take the south wing, Jean and I'll take the north wing. Logan has the central complex and we'll meet up with him there. Avoid unnecessary contact if you can."

"You can't send Storm in on her own. She'll have no backup." Wolverine hissed at Cyclops.

"Showing concern Logan, its unbecoming of you. I can handle my own. Go, we've wasted enough time as it is." Storm said as she moved off and began her approach by air.

'It's your life ...' Muttered Logan as he disappeared into the approaching woods.

::'I'll take care you ...'::

::'Ye promise...?'::

::'Ye kid, I do...'::

::'Ye kid, I do...'::

::'Ye kid, I do...'::

'I'm sorry I wasn't there when I should have been... I'll make it up to you somehow, if not now, when we next meet again ...' He was never free from those memories, he had been getting them every day now since he came back ... never getting to say what he really felt to her when he did eventually make up his mind and decided to head back to the school.

---

Rogue clutched at the tags around her neck and closed her eyes. By the end of this night everything would change, the world would change, her friends and enamies would too, so would all the other mutants and humans that she didn't know. It all didn't matter, as long as she could be with Logan nothing mattered, not even if it meant altering the past ...

::"Professor, I think ... ... ... Logan's gone ... ... dead ... ... for good." Rogue heard snatches of words Jean said to the professor one evening. "Rogue would be devastated should ... ... .... Where is ...? She would want to know ..." Jean continued. Without hearing more of what was being said, Rogue flew to her room with tears running freely down her face.

'No, it can be true ... he can't be ...' Rogue thought to herself as she decided what to do...::

That was five years ago. "We'll soon be together my love ... I promise you." Rogue kissed her tags before guiding them back under her vest where they belonged ... next to her heart. She dawned the helmet that signified her as the office bearer of the Ghost Leader, she headed towards the sealed doors off her objective. "Haven's Gate, how apt ..." she mused as she read the plague above the door.

With the superhuman strength that she'd gain. Opening the 10 foot doors was a breeze for her, stepping into the room she began searching for what she needed to go back to Logan. She didn't notice the figure in the corner until he spoke up.

"The infamous Ghost Leader ... we meet at last ... " Logan said as he moved out into the light, his clawed hands hanging dangerously by his side and a near maniacal grin on his face. "We have a lot to talk about you know, the two of us..." He said slowly, "Let me make this easy for you, lets begin with what you did to Marie. And I promise you a quick and painless death. Otherwise ..." Logan left his threat unfinished, although he may have been an x-men and killing people came easily to him, especially when it involved the death of one of his loved ones.

Rogue faltered when she heard that voice, that low inflections and tones she remembered so well it further confirming what she thought couldn't be true. When she turned and saw who it was, she nearly dropped. She wanted so much to run to him and touch him. Wanting to tell him desperately that she was Rogue, his little Marie and that she wanted to be together forever with him. But suddenly she stopped.

'All those lives Ah took ... men, women, humans and mutants, children ...'

'All so ah could live out my selfish dream.'

'All the manipulation of others so that Ah could fulfil my needs.'

'Shadow? James? lovers ...?!!'

'Ah ... Ah've become a monster ... what would he think of me. He would hate me.'

All the images flashed through her mind so quickly that she barely had time to register Logan launching his attack at her and her fleeing out of harms way. She wanted to scream out. "It's me, Marie. Stop!!" So the he would stop, but she was too ashamed to do so. Nor did she want to leave the room without saying anything to him. Fighting him was something she flatly refused to do, even if it would cost her, her life. So they began their deadly dance, Wolverine as the hunter and she as the willing prey. All the while tears would stream down Rogue's eyes.

Part way through they were interrupted, "Rogues' intercom came alive. "Ghost Leader, we're taking a battering here, if you've got the core we have to go. The transport wouldn't take much more of a pounding from the x-men. Retreat to way Yankee for extraction. Repeat ... Retreat to way Yankee for extraction." The link went silent waiting the response that would never come.

"Why don't you answer them while you still have the chance, you're tiring and we both know it." Logan said when his acute sensors picked up the transmission from her helmet, although he was still perplexed as to why his opponent would not attack back.

"Come in Ghost Leader .."

More transmissions filled her communications link "Shadow, Ghost Leader is not responding!"

A few seconds later, "Marie!!! ... Answer me. Can you hear me? Mariiii....." Shadows voice cut out over the intercom as Logon sliced through the link narrowly missing Rogue's heart as she fell to the floor. With Logan almost instantly on top of her.

'Damn!! He'll know for sure now'. Rogue saw the recognition in his eyes as he heard her name being called out. 'Too late to do anything' Rogue thought, as she saw his claws raise and ready to drop for the kill. Reaching, she closed her hand on the tags she close her eyes waiting for the sweet darkness of death to take her pain away ... forever.

She felt rather that heard the claws strike the floor on either side of her neck, wondering is she couldn't fill the middle claw because it had already gone through her spine. But she could still feel her limbs and quickly dismissed that idea. Slowly she felt her mask being pulled away genteelly and slowly. "Oh, GOD please, I can't let him see me like this ..." She thought. Refusing to face him, she turned her head away. Her sobbing was the only sound to permeate the loneliness of the room after Logan dropped her Helmet in shock.


End.

to be continued? ... eh should I continue this?