No sound could be heard except the rain falling from clouds that seemed to weep. Clouds that wept over the grave of a girl loved by many, and cherished by one.

It was a tragic end that no one understood. How could a mutant so powerful she could fly, and so strong she could move mountains, have perished? Everyone tried to understand, and many said it was fate, but a select few would never let it go.

Rogue had been fighting an unknown mutant only a short distance from the school. The Professor had been alerted to this mutant's presence and sent the X-Men out to meet him. The intense feelings that had projected from this man lead the Professor to believe he was highly dangerous, and that he might mean to harm the children.

Rogue and Wolverine were the first to go out and meet him. Rogue flew with Wolverine until they spotted their culprit on the ground below. The pair moved swiftly down to meet the man. This mutant was unlike any they had ever faced. Strength beyond imagining coursed through him, and with one blow he sent the Wolverine flying dozens of feet away.

As the story goes, when Wolverine failed to respond to Rogue's cries, she became enraged. She leapt at this stranger and they exchanged blows for what seemed like hours, but what in fact were only minutes. Strike after strike fell on the woman called indestructible, and with each blow her strength slipped away.

The few X-Men who rushed to join the fight saw the feared Wolverine raise himself in time to witness the hit that broke the woman. The hand was like a hammer, moving unbending toward its target, and with that final blow Rogue fell to the ground.

She landed on the beautiful green grass looking like a fallen angel. No matter how many blows she might have taken, her beauty remained steadfast. Her auburn hair spread about her like a halo, the white streak standing out like lightening on a midnight sky.

The Wolverine rushed to Rogue's side and lifted her to his lap. He called her name again and again, but received no response. He pressed his face to hers hoping her skin would draw his life from him, and in doing so save hers. No such gift was to come.

To this day no one knows where the murderer of Rogue went. He vanished as though never there at all.

The pain he caused would not vanish. He left behind sorrow so deep and harrowing that it could not be measured.

Residents of Xavier's School of the Gifted watched as the Wolverine, who many knew as Logan, carried his Marie into the forest. He would keep her there for hours, and only then did he return so that she might be buried.

She was placed in the Earth near the place where grassy fields meet tall pines. It is a peaceful place where only a few visit, and where one stays. A month passed after Marie's death. Many of the residents waited for Logan to move on, but those who knew him best knew this would never happen.

This was a man who had loved one above all others, and now she was gone.

Logan was a man who was believed to lack the ability to die. On the outside he looked fine. His body always repairing itself.

Inside he was dying.

The Professor knew it, as did Jean Grey. Telepaths are capable of knowing so much that goes unspoken.

No one was surprised when one day Logan did not respond to telepathic prompts. It was quiet at the grave. Anguished thoughts no longer begged to be released from their prison. His face was peaceful when looked upon, as though he had finally found what had been lost.

The Wolverine had not been defeated in battle as so many thought he might one day. He died of a broken heart.

That death took him to what he cherished most in every lifetime.