Before He Forgot Us: The Prologue


I was seven when I came to live with Mr. Sinister and the others. My parents had died in a car accident and I was left to die in an orphanage. During my stay at the orphanage I developed my powers. I couldn’t touch a soul without sucking the life out of them. Taking in all of their memories and thoughts, some more evil than others, then one day a woman came to pick me up. She explained to me that Mr. Sinister had adopted me and that I would soon be leaving this place I called hell.

“Does he know about….about me?” I remember asking her in the long black limo as we pulled away. My hands carefully tucked in between my legs, trying to make my self appear as small as possible.

“That he knows you’re a mutant? Of course, that’s why he adopted you. You will be a nice piece to his already large collection of mutants. So no worries my dear, Mr. Sinister will be taking great care of you,” I remember her smile at me after her little speech. Now that I think about it, I hated her smile. It was how do you say it, fake? Yea fake it was like she knew something that I didn’t, and I hated her for it.

We drove for what felt like hours until we came upon a huge building that reminded me of those prisons you would see on some movie on television. I remember shuddering at the thought of living in a prison. Of living in that cold emotionless place for as long as Mr. Sinister wanted me too.

The woman had led me into the facility and told me it was a place that helped mutants like my self. I was naïve what can I say, I was young, innocent and believed what ever sugar coated story she told me, just as long as I had a place to stay other than that orphanage. He was handsome then to say the least, some what inviting and I wasn’t to terribly afraid of him. At the time I would have rather been with him than that woman.

He led me down a corridor to the room I would be staying at. Apparently there were a lot of children close to my age living on the same corridor as I. Now looking back it made sense. He didn’t like ‘helping’ the younger children until they were old enough to withstand his ‘processing.’ It made me sick just thinking about what he did for a living.

My new brother’s and sister as he called it came out awhile later and introduced themselves to me. My two new brothers Remy LeBeau a.k.a Gambit, Scott ‘Slim’ Summers (who had yet to manifest) and my new sister Belladonna, she was apparently Mr. Sinister’s only biological daughter. Let’s just say Remy and Bella were twelve and thirteen so they didn’t want to spend there time with Slim and I so they kept to themselves. To say the least it was fine for Slim and I, because we became fast friends.

Over the next three years I quickly learned the inner workings of the upper part of the facility that we lived in. We were forbidden to go down to the lower levels and none of us were ever curious to find out what was down there. Because at night when we where tucked safely into our warm beds, we could hear the ominous howling, echoing up through the air vents into our rooms. Terrifying us into a submission we were too young to be aware of.

But when I turned ten that’s when everything really started to go to hell. Bella and Gambit were now fifteen and sixteen years old and had become serious together. Mr. Sinister was more than happy to oblige to any thing that involved them staying together. Because Gambit’s biological father was the leader of the thieves’ guild and I later learned that Gambit wasn’t even one of Mr. Sinister’s ‘children’ he was just staying at the facility so that he could in fact become attached to Belladonna. However, Slim and I were there for different reasons.

When Slim turned eleven that same year he had finally manifested and was sent to live down in the lower levels. I cried for weeks because Mr. Sinister or ‘father’ as I now called him wouldn’t allow me to see him. Until eventually he said I could go down and help take care of Slim and the rest of his little ‘pets.’ I was so excited that he was finally going to let me see Slim that I didn’t even take notice to the extent of what taking care of them meant. I was ordered to take care of Slim and the Wolverine. Both were locked up in cells on the lower levels of our soon to be personal hell. When I first saw Slim laying on the cement floor I wept for him.

“Oh Slim,” I said as my father unlocked the door.

“Are you okay?” I asked as I rushed towards him and hugged him to my chest. My best friend in the whole world was locked in a cage like an animal.

“Don’t worry Rouge, it’s just part of the healing process, he will eventually be let out,” my father told me with a wicked grin. And at that exact moment I knew my whole life had been a scam.

“I’m fine Rogue don’t worry about me okay?” Slim told me as he touched my face because he couldn’t see me from the bandages that covered his eyes.

“Okay Slim whatever you say,” I told him, it didn’t matter what I told him, he will always try to protect me no matter what.
“Alright sweetheart, it’s time to see the other thing you will be taking care of,” my father told me from the cell door, I got up slowly not taking my eyes of Slim until my father shut the door. ‘I’ll be back later’ I whispered to Slim as I turned to follow my father.

He led me down five cells each one as ominous and bleak as the next, until we came upon the finale one. In side I first thought it was a large animal until it moved and I realized it was a man. I was shocked at first to say the least, and then when I met the man’s hazel eyes with flecks of gold in them, I knew there was something there. Even at the young age of ten, I knew. I knew at that exact moment my life would be changing forever.

“Now my dear he’s quite dangerous, but I think that since you are young and prove to be of no threat he won’t hurt you, an animal instinct and all. So the Wolverine will become your charge, you must take all necessary percussions and make sure that the cell door is always locked when your inside and outside the cell, do you understand me?” He asked me, I nodded my reply and that’s how I meet the Wolverine, the man I would come to love and trust with all of my heart and soul.

Five years later...

It’s been five horrible years. I’m fifteen now and completely understand what my father meant by ‘helping us’ and the idea of it makes me sick. Experimentations of mutants and guess what I’m his daughter and I’m one of them. Everyday I wonder when I will be next. When I will be the one who is screaming and no one hears me. Slim’s been down here for five years. Five years in that cell. I’ve tried to make it so it doesn’t hurt as much, help clean his wounds, make sure he’s feed properly and bathed properly. But deep down it makes me sick and every day as I sit down there helping my blind friend and all I can do is cry silently.

Logan’s worse off. It took me two years before he finally trusted me completely. Now I’m the only one he’ll let into his cell without trying to kill them. I cut his hair for him and help him shave and everything. But since they’ve started putting that damn adamantium into his system it’s getting harder everyday for him to move until his body adapts to it. God I can’t stand it, hearing him scream from down the hall. Especially when I am just doors down helping Slim from his own time with the good doctor. It just kills my hopeful spirit a little bit everyday, and personally I can’t take it anymore.

“Hey Logan, it’s just me, time for dinner and a little clean up,” I tell him as I unlock his cage, I don’t call it a cell anymore it’s too inappropriate for him. Logan just turns to look at me with pain filled eyes.

“Hey kid, what’s for dinner?” He always asks me the same question every night, no matter how bad my father hurt him; he always just smiles at me and asks that silly question.

It took nearly six months before Logan trusted me enough to speak to me. Six months of trying to get him to trust me enough to realize that behind all his cavalier he was human deep down.

“I convinced the cook to make us some roast with potatoes for tonight,” I told him, finally protesting to my father that I would stop helping him if he didn’t at least allow his prisoners some decent food, and seeing as how Logan won’t let anyone in with out force and a death sentence he allowed it. So every night I have dinner with either Logan or Scott depending upon who was not being ‘helped.’

Tonight however Logan was my dinner partner. Three years ago I stopped having dinner upstairs with Remy and his new wife Bella (yep you guessed it they got married, how lovely) and my father, it was too sickening after seeing all of the hell downstairs. I just couldn’t take it.

I smiled at him as I set the tray on the floor. I asked him once how he got mixed up in all of this seeing as how Logan is an extremely smart man. What he told me left a bitter taste in my mouth. He had originally been asked to try out a new serum that Striker (my father’s partner in crime) had developed and was going to pay Logan a large amount of money to do so. Unfortunately for Logan it was a trap and he has been here ever since. Lucky me then I guess, I told him after he told me that particular story.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts as we started eating our dinner. For some strange reason both of us have always eaten our dinner in silence. I don’t know why but it’s just nice to be in each other’s presence without having to think of where we are.

I look over at him as I chew on some of the roast I had brought down. Looking at him as I have for the last five years and sadly knowing that I’ve fallen madly in love with him.

He is just such a gentleman even in the worst conditions and it makes me wonder what he would be like out in the real world. Losing my self in my thoughts once again, I hear the familiar scream of my foster brother coming down the hall. I stiffened immediately and dropped my fork, my eyes growing wide as I let the tears fall. It took everything in me to not bolt out of the room and run down the hallway to the laboratory where he was being kept and stop whatever horrors my father was inflicting on him.

“Hey, kid you alright?” Logan asked me noticing the change in me. I just looked up at him for a moment, the tears spilling over and falling down my cheeks.

“I can’t take this anymore Logan!” I tell him in almost a yelling voice, “he’s my brother and there’s nothing I can do to stop this… this hell!” I motion around me and started to sob from anger, from fear I’m not sure.

“Come here kid,” He tells me and motions for me to come and snuggle against him. He hates it when I cry, something about sensing it with his whole body. I sob into his chest for a while, curled into his lap. He’s petting my hair, telling me it’s going to be okay eventually.

“No it’s never going to be okay Logan, I’m a mutant too you know,” I never told him that before and he stiffens a little and then pulls me tighter against him.

“If it wasn’t for this stupid bracelet that they made me I wouldn’t even be able to touch you with out killing you,” I tell him as another sob racks my body.
“I mean everyday I come down here and I see what they are doing to you and Slim and I just hate wondering when it’s going to be my turn, when do I get to have my own little cage to sit in and slowly die each and every day as they poke and prod me,” I tell him and his grip tightens on me even more and I feel him set his jaws and tighten his eyes. We’ve never had a discussion like this.

“I won’t let them hurt ya kid, no matter what. Your all I’ve got and I’ll be damned if I will let them bastards hurt you too,” I look up at him with a tear streaked face and give him a weak nod in understanding. My eyes look into his searching to make sure that what he says is true. Because he’s right, if it wasn’t for him I would be in the cell right next to his, rocking back and forth in misery, trying to stop the pain.

His hands trace the outline of my face, his thumb brushes away the last of my tears, and he’s looking at me with a great intensity. Then his eyes drop from my eyes to my lips, I know I’ve stopped breathing and he has too. He pulls me closer to him and kisses me tenderly, the kiss turns more passionately, I feel his hands move from my head to the small of my back. They’re ruff, his hands, but they feel good against my burning flesh as they snake their way up my shirt and rest on the lower part of my back.

We stop for a moment; Logan keeps looking at my eyes, checking to make sure he didn’t hurt me. I just smile at him; he’s the only person who has ever touched me like that, kissed me like that. I pull him close to my body again, my lips close to his ear.

“I love you Logan, always have always will,” I whisper and kiss the side of neck, I feel him pulling me back, too look me better in the eye.

“I…I don’t want to tell you I love you, because I want to be able to tell you I love you when your not the only one who makes me feel like I am still a person and not some animal. You’re all I’ve got so the ‘I love you’ is going to have to wait until we are both in better conditions that these.” He tells me sincerely but that’s Logan, always making sure things are right before they move any further.

“I understand Logan, I just thought you should know, just in case,” and I bow my head afraid of what that case might be. I’ve been hearing rumors lately that I am truly the next one to go, however I won’t be staying here at the lab.

“I do promise however Logan, that I will get you out of here, because I want you to be able to tell me you love me in that different condition you are talking about,” and I give him a quick peck on the cheek as I move to get up.

“I’ll be back in the morning with breakfast, finish your dinner okay?” I tell him as I leave the cage where my heart will stay until we can be together again.

I walk back down the long corridor past the offices of the people who conduct the “experiments”. The eeriness of the hall-way always seems to make my skin crawl involuntary. There are two people in one of the offices to my right and with the door cracked open just a little I can hear their elevated voices. I notice one of them to be my father and the other to be Striker, a balding silver haired man who was to over weight for his own good.

“You can’t just give someone like her away! If the finale tests don’t go through with both subjects then she will be a nice back up! Giving her to Creed and Magneto will only cause us more problems in the end!” I heard Striker yell at my father. I’ve stopped by now, curiosity getting the better of me. I’m leaning against the side of the door listening in to the conversation with rapt attention.

“Yes but they are offering a large amount of money for her! If we sell her to them then we will have enough money to further our research and we won’t have to have a ‘nice back up’!” My father yelled back to him.

What are they talking about selling her? They can’t mean me can they? I mean I’ve heard rumors lately. But rumors are just that rumors. Right?

“I know Nathanial but we could use Rogue ourselves,” Striker tells my father in a last attempt to change his mind, however as I continue to listen I hear him say in an almost defeated voice, “when does she leave?”

“In two days, they will come pick her up after she has had her dinner with her pets, she has grown too attached to them. Anyways, this way we can conduct the finale experiments on our subjects before they go completely insane,” Sinister concludes and I in complete shock run back down to the cells to tell Logan.

Fear grips my heart at my unwanted discovery as I race back down that green tinted corridor. I turn a quick left towards the cells and with a panting breath I open his door with force. All I can do at this point is run and throw myself against him as I start to cry into his shoulder.

“Hey kid what’s wrong,” he asks me as he pulls me from his shoulder. Bewilderment is clear on his face as he looks into my sobbing one.

Oh God the rumors are true! I can’t believe I was foolish enough to believe this would-could last forever.

“They…they, I’ve been sold!” I nearly scream at him and once again start to sob hysterically into my hands.

“What!? When?” Logan says as he makes me look at him, shaking me slightly to grab my attention back to the present.

“I was going back up to my room and as I was passing my fathers office I heard him arguing with Striker about me,” I pause and let another sob rack my body, “they’ve sold me to this guy named Creed and Magneto so that they can further their experiments with you and Slim!” I spat out as if it was a bad taste lingering in my mouth. I can’t stop crying by this point and all Logan can do is just hold me closer till my bawling ceases.

“It’s okay, everything will be fine, trust me,” he tells me in an almost mumbling sort of way as he rocks me like he did before.

This is the ‘just in case’ I was talking about, them taking me away from him. I can’t just let them rot here today as I get carted off to somewhere unknown.

“I’m getting you and Slim out of here tomorrow,” I state to him as I pull myself away from him. A somber face now masking the downtrodden child I was only moments ago.

“Don’t kid your self kid,” He tells me with a grunt as a hand runs across his stubble face.

“No, I can and I’ve already been sold so they can’t touch me. I…I know this guy, I heard Father talking about him awhile back. He’s a mutant rights activist. He said something about how he was trying to uncover mutant genetic labs across the county. It was on the news a couple of weeks back too,” I yammer on as I start to pace an idea starting to form in the forefront of my mind.

“Anyways, I got curious you know. So I…I uh did a bit of hacking and found out how to contact him,” I finish telling him as I turn to look at him. The look he gives me makes me want to cry all over again.

“Kid I ain’t leaving you, not now, not ever,” I just look at him and give him a sad smile. He doesn’t understand and that’s okay.

“You don’t understand Logan, by the time he gets here I will be gone,” I can’t stand that look any longer. Then I stand up abruptly to leave to go back to my room, to call Xavier and tell him to come and get Slim and Logan. To save the only two people I will ever love.

But Logan apparently doesn’t see my great plan like I do as he grabs my hand and pulls me back to him. My body is flush against his, breathing heavily, from the sudden events or just his large body I am unaware at this point. I wrap my arms around him and hug him tightly as if this will be the last time, the feeling of loss quickly comes upon me. I know his eyes are shut as he returns the hug and whispers in my ear.

“I guess the conditions have changed kid, so before….before anything happens, I just want you to know that I do love you, and don’t you forget it.” I choke back a wanting sob.

“Never Logan, never,” I tell him truthfully and I kiss him as hard and as passionately as I can. He sinks immediately into my kiss, as if it’s something he’s been doing all this time. He runs his hands up and down my body, touching me in places I didn’t know could feel so good when touched like this.

“Logan please…”I beg him, for what exactly I’m not sure, but I just want the aching and the pain to go away and be filled by something else-anything else.

“Are you sure kid,” he asks looking at me with lust filled eyes.

“Yes. I want it to be you Logan, I don’t know the others and I don’t want them to be… to be the first,” I barely make it out, I’m slightly embarrassed by own words, but it’s true, I want it to be him, always have. Who knows what will happen to me, wherever I am going.

He just nods to me and lays me on my back. The cement is cold and unwelcoming as I watch Logan remove my shirt slowly. He isn’t even wearing one and I can’t help but rake my nails through his hair covered chest. Feeling all the muscles that are surprisingly still hard and sculpted after years of neglect and misuse.

He undoes my bra and kisses me tenderly as he kneads my breasts, his rough hands feel good against the softness of my pale flesh and the act in its self makes them instantly hard. I moan into his mouth when he plays with the nipple of my left breast. It all just feels so good; I never want it to stop. He unbuttons my pants and slips a hand inside and starts to massage me with his fingers.

“God baby you’re already wet,” I blush slightly at the bluntness of his response but the smile on his face reassures me. I feel him remove his hand and I start to protest, when I realize he’s sliding my pants and underwear down my body.

After he discards my pants he starts to kiss my naked body, leaving a trail of wet kisses down my stomach until I feel his mouth on me. I gasp at the pleasure of his ministrations and arch my back when I feel him slip a finger in me.

“And tight too,” I hear him groan out, but the feeling is just so good I don’t care anymore.

He stops and I let out a loud groan of disproval as I see him remove the thin material that is his pants. He’s already hard and all I can feel at this point is wanting and pure primal lust. But he just smiles at me again and I let the thought pass, because he really is an amazing sight.

“God baby you’re so beautiful,” he tells me raking his eyes over my body. I just smile nervously and wait for him to finish his looking. When he does finish he leans down and kisses me again, running his hands up the sides of by body.

“This might hurt a little okay?” He tells me and I nod my head and brace myself against him.

The sensation that I receive is more than what I had ever expected. I grip his shoulders and slowly start to move with him in a rocking motion, keeping a slow and steady pace.

This, I realize, will probably be the first and last time for me to truly make love to some one and we both want it to last forever.

I start to gasp and moan as Logan moves positions a little, increasing the friction between us. Through the haze I could hear Logan growl a little as our bodies slowly move and caressed each other.

“I love you Logan,” I whispered to him as he starts to pick up the pace, coming closer to the oblivion we both so desperately craved.

“I love you too Rogu-”

“Marie…its Marie,” I tell him before he could finish his statement.

“I love you Marie,” and that’s when I found out what true bliss was all about. I rode out my orgasm until Logan himself came with a not so quite roar. Then he collapsed on top of me and hugging me tightly to his body while we panted until our hearts slowed. Looking up at him, I started to cry clinging to him again.

“Baby are you okay? Did I hurt you?” Logan asked me looking at me worriedly.

“No, I’m just so happy right now and I know that after tomorrow I probably will never see you again.” I continued to sob into his chest. Logan shifted and brought us up into a sitting position. Kissing my forehead and stroking my hair trying to get me to clam down.

“Don’t worry darlin’ we’ll see each other again. Once I get out of here I’ll come find you, okay?” I just nodded my reply and kissed his cheek and made to get up.

“I need to leave before someone notices that I haven’t made it up to my room and I also need to make that phone call,” I told him just barely above a whisper as I wipe the tears from my eyes and started to get dressed. He just looked at me with pain filled eyes, a look that would haunt unknowingly for the next fifteen years.

“I’ll bring us some breakfast in the morning okay? How about pancakes?” I smiled at him as I opened the cell door.

“Pancakes would be great darlin’” He tells me as if nothing has happened. As if after tomorrow our world would end. He returned my smile and I left him there in that cell. I really wished I had known that, that was the last time I would be seeing him.

I slowly made my way back towards my room an aching that would never leave me followed close behind. I made it back to my small room with no interruptions to the thoughts that had invaded my mind.

I move towards the window of my small room, lifting a floor board that held some of my most precious items. On the top was a manila folder that held Xavier’s phone number. I open it with care as pull the slip of paper out. The loves of my life depend on this one man. This one man will be the one to change everything and give Slim and Logan a chance to be free, to be normal. I take the paper and reach back inside and pulled out a small, disposable, pre-paid cellular phone that I had snagged when on one of the few outings I was allowed to go on.

Slowly I dial the number I had written on a slip of paper. Letting it ring ominously until a soft foreign accent answered the phone.

“Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, this is Ms. Monroe how may I help you?” The greeting voice spoke to me.

“I need to speak to Charles Xavier please. It’s a private matter,” I told the voice, my own voice only slightly shaking.

“He is in a class. Can I please take a message?”

“No. I need to speak to him now. It’s a life and death situation,” I tell her in a panic. I’m griping the phone so tight now I’m afraid it’s going to break in half.

“Just a moment,” she says just as softly as when she first spoke to me. It only takes mere moments before I hear the line pick up again.

“This is Charles Xavier,” a gentle voice says to me and I immediately feel some of the tension leave me.

“Mr. Xavier I have some very valuable information for you. But this all needs to be done quickly and effectively,” I tell him in rushed voice.

“I’m listening,” he says to me and I continue in that rapid speech.

“I’ve heard that you are currently uncovering known mutant labs within the United States,” I pause to hear if my research and long hours of hoping are true. “Yes, that is correct.”

“Good, I have the exact location of one that is being funded by the government or until the end of the week that is. You have till tomorrow to get them out,” I tell him.

“Who are you my dear?” He asks me and I can’t help but smile.

“I’m just a Rogue and it doesn’t matter. You need to get them out of here before it’s too late,” I say in a panic almost pleading voice.

“Of course we will. What about you? What will happen to you? I know this information must be something of a drastic measure.”

“Don’t worry about me professor, I’m a lost cause. I’ll be shipped out before you even get here,” I say to him. My heart deflating just as fast as it had filled only minutes earlier with Logan.

“We’re in Chicago, an old insane asylum. Everyone in here is a mutant expect for the two main doctors. But only two need rescuing. There in the basement of the building. Everything is down there. Documents, files, the whole she-bang, just get them and whatever you need to throw those bastards away forever and get the hell out. Those two men you’re saving are my everything. They’re all I have in this world and you’re the only one who can help them and me,” I tell him as a tear slips down my face.

“I will do everything in my power to ensure their safety,” Xavier told me through the phone.

“You have to come get them by tomorrow, after tomorrow it will be to late,” I told Charles Xavier as I sat in my room on the telephone.

“Okay, we’ll be there as soon as possible my dear Rogue.”

“I won’t be there Mr. Xavier, so please make sure they stay safe and are given the future that they deserve, especially Slim. Don’t let Logan look for me, let him move on and have the life he deserves. Please take care of them for me,” I begged the older gentleman on the phone.

“Rogue is there something I should know?”

“I’ve been sold, so I am sorry I won’t be there to see their release, I will be leaving tomorrow; I am so sorry, but thank you.” I hung up the phone and returned it to where I found it and I fell into the darkness. Waiting for tomorrow when I will lose the one thing that held me together all these years.

I was woken the next morning by two large hands grabbing me and pulling me from my bed. I was scared and started to scream but a hand quickly closed over my mouth. Fear gripped my heart quicker than anything I had ever felt before.

“Time to go sweetheart,” said the all too familiar voice and that’s when I really started to panic; it was too soon, I was supposed to be giving Logan breakfast in an hour. He was going to flip the moment I didn’t show.

“We’ve decided to move up out little project due to some disturbing news that was obtained last night,” My father stated rather harshly as my eyes grew big as I continued to listen, he knew about my phone call. This meant he knew about Logan and me. I started screaming and thrashing around trying to reach out to any one or anything that might be able to hear or help. Unfortunately my prayers would never be answered as I was hauled further away from the comfort of my bedroom.

He took me down to the lower levels, hauling me down that dark corridor like it was my own personal path to hell. Dragging me past Scott’s cell, who stood up immediately when he heard my struggling and muffled please for help.

I hardly paid attention to Sinister as he rambled on to me about how stupid I was and how I had ruined everything. That’s when I bit his hand, hard enough to draw a small amount of blood. His hand quickly left my mouth allowing me enough room to scream.

“HELP ME!” I screamed as loud as I could, struggling against his tightening grasp that he held firmly around my waist.

“God would you just, SHUT UP!” He screamed at me and back handed me up against the left side of my head. I was left slightly dazed by the contact.

I felt him open one of the cages and then with a less than nice push he threw me into it, I hit the cement floor with a loud thump. Crying out from the short pain, I quickly without delay ran back towards the opening of the cell. Sinister just glared at me before slamming the door right into my face.

“You can stay here until your new owners arrive, I don’t keep traitors in my facility, they just become a liability. Don’t you understand how stupid you really are? What you’ve done? You’ve ruined everything! And for what? For that stupid excuse of an experiment, a nameless animal that would sooner kill you than actually love you. You really are pathetic and a waste to this facility and to my dream,” He spat at me as I glared back defiantly. My eyes left his momentarily as I felt the presence of another in the tiny cell and I quickly diverted my eyes from Sinister to the creature crouching in the dark corner of the room.

For a moment I was confused and then realization hit me hard. A pair of golden eyes stared at me like prey as he slowly crept from his darkened corner into the light. My enslaved hero approached me cautiously, looking at me with out a trace of recognition as he licked his lips which slowly turned into an up-turned lip showing off his impressive canines.

“Oh don’t worry my dear, he doesn’t remember you at all,” Sinister told me with a wicked smile, “we’ve had to move up the testing and this new drug in his system, apparently it’s more than just enough to make him forget. Don’t want our little pet knowing where we are if he decided to escape or some how released by outside sources.” He said to me menacingly as I looked at him in shocked horror. He knew everything apparently even the X-Men’s soon arrival. I quickly turned my attention back to Logan.

“No…” I whispered with a choked sob. Not wanting to believe those horrible words. Not wanting to believe what that actually meant for Logan and me in the long run. Even if he does escape he won’t ever remember me. I will be a lost piece of his life like so many other things.

I started to move towards him with caution as I had all those years ago. At first he started to growl at me, a low throaty growl that I knew was my one and only warning. But I was still to stubborn and persistent as I inched closer.

“Logan….” I was only inches from his face and let my fingers hover there for a moment.

I tentatively brushed his slick skin with the tips of my fingers hoping he would register my touch if only for a second. However my hope was quickly dashed as he roared like the animal they had successfully turned him into and plunged three nine-inch metal claws into my chest. I really couldn’t feel it at first but I gasped in pain and looked at him my eyes staring straight into his golden ones.

“I’m…I’m so sorry Logan…,” I panted out in short breaths as he dug them deeper into my torso an almost feral grin crossing his once lovely features, “I couldn’t save you before… before I…I left-- I love you Logan… always have… always will,” I told him as blood slowly began to drip from the corners of my mouth, gurgling at some moments as I struggled to say my last good byes.

Then I saw it the yellow that had dominated his eyes only moments before slowly starting to show the all too familiar flecks of hazel in them as recognition set in. He retracted his claws and I fell to the ground limply, clutching my chest, trying to stop the bleeding that was now gushing from almost everywhere.

I watched as Logan stepped back from me in sheer fear as I lay bleeding on the floor. Then he reached for me tentatively almost afraid to touch me, how ironic, and that’s when I reached over and took off my bracelet that stopped my mutation.

“Logan….my mutation,” I sputtered out as another wave of blood gurgled out of my mouth.

He seemed to understand me as he inched closer as I slowly started to fade into unconsciousness. I felt his callused hand skitter across my flesh until he finally gripped my right arm. I felt the pull even before he had time to register it as his love, his devotion, his willingness to protect me and his confusion poured into me. As I felt my body slowly knit its self together I felt him grow limp and motionless on my right side. Eventually I pushed his heavy body from me as he collapsed to the ground like all my victims before him.

I sat there for what felt like hours watching him as he slowly came back from unconsciousness, looking around with his now hazel eyes searching for me. He started to come closer to me and I flinched back involuntarily and scooted towards the bars. Feeling the all too familiar buzz of my mutation I tried to get as far away from him as possible.

He looked momentarily taken aback as I tried to become as small as possible. A new kind of fear that I had never felt for him came off me in waves. I could smell it thick in the air and knew it had to be part of his mutation as well.

It felt like all my senses where on fire. Everything was so well defined I could taste the blood that still lay sticky on the floor all the way in my corner. It was enlightening to say the least. I looked straight at Logan and the look he gave me was one of pity and self hatred.

Slowly I integrated Logan into my system becoming one with his unusual physic. I had an animalistic dominance that could never be matched. In short I felt completely empowered.

“Hey sugar that was some kiss you gave me,” I smiled at him my once brilliant green eyes now golden like a cats in the moonlight.

I moved from my fetal position to one that mirrored Logan’s. Loving the free and powerful feeling I hoped would never be flushed from my system. I cocked my head to one side, looking more like a curious cat than the innocent girl I was only days before.

Logan just seemed to stare at me, seizing me up like an opponent as we slowly started to circle one another. I filtered through his memories quickly learning everything he knew, like a giant computer. Soon I was able to fight with him as an equal and I am almost positive Logan understood that as I took up an all too familiar fighting stance.

“Rogue,” he said warningly to me as I felt three small bone claws slowly slip out from between my knuckles. A release that felt oh so good and almost too exhilarating.

He stared at me then, looking slightly confused by my new equipment and almost back up away from me. I grinned in satisfaction. Logan really had no idea what I was made of, what the extent of my mutation really was. That one day I might become the strongest mutant on the planet.

“Marie,” he said this time, pleading as best the Wolverine could. I stopped and stood up then cocking my head to the side at the familiarity of the name.

Soon however I felt Logan’s powers start to fade as if him saying my name was the trigger. Brilliant green was soon showing through the vicious yellow as I soon left Logan’s feral nature pass through me like a second coming.

I shuddered as the bone claws slowly disappeared back into my hands and eventually disappeared all together. I shook my head as I let the ferocious emotions of Wolverine wash away. Logan took a cautious step towards me and I snapped my eyes up to him quickly.

“Marie,” he said again like testing water for poison.

“Logan,” I said if not too casually.

“I was afraid that you forgot me, that once I was gone I wouldn’t have any reason to fight whatever they did to me until you could find me.” I told him honestly as I turned from him.

“I could never forget you darlin’ never,” He said with a conviction I believed then. He reached for me and turned me into his arms. I leaned my head against his chest and shuddered a sigh. But soon I heard the all too familiar echo of footsteps coming from down the hallway. My heart stopping as I listened to my father’s voice echo from down the corridor. Logan started to growl and pushed me behind him, hiding me from my fate.

"you’ll take care of Slim for me when Xavier comes for ya’ll,” I told him as I clung to his chest.

“You got it kid, but I doubt that’ll happen,” He said like a promise and I hugged him tighter to me, closing my eyes tight as I heard the door open, praying against the heavens that this wasn’t for real, that this wasn’t the end.

“Ah there you are my dear, now these two gentlemen will be your new owners,” I could hear my father talking and feel Logan’s chest rumble as he continued to growl at the two men who entered with my father.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the little runt? How do you like captivity? And looks like you got your self a nice little pet too, how lovely?” I could hear one man say to Logan in a voice similar to his.

“Creed if you don’t want me to rip your fucking head off I think it would be in your best interest to back the fuck off,” Logan warned the man named Creed who only laughed at him. Creed I know that name from Logan’s memories. As I searched Logan’s memories I realized that he wasn’t a nice man at all. I shuddered against Logan who just backed me up closer to the wall behind us.

“I’m getting real impatient,” said an older voice to Creed and my father, “does that remarkable metal run throughout your entire body?”

Then I felt Logan’s body go stiff and I shot my eyes open. The man held out his hand wide and then slightly flicked it, sending Logan flying across the cell against the cement covered wall. I screamed and made a dash for Logan who lay on the ground groaning but was slowly getting up. Thank heaven for his healing abilities. But before I could reach him two large hairy, claw like hands grabbed me around the waist and pulled me away from Logan.

“No! Logan!” I screamed as I fought against the man who held me. Then I heard Logan’s roar and a sick sounding rip. I turned to look at him as he lay pinned to the floor. Creed pulled me out of the cage, my fighting seemed effortless against him, and after my father closed the cell door Logan was released from his pinned position on the floor and he ran towards the bars. I stretched my fingers out as far as they could go but they couldn’t reach his out stretched hand.

“LOGAN! NO!” I screamed and cried out to him reaching for him as they carried me away from his cell. Creed pressing my body as close to his as possible, who I noticed was staring at Logan with a smirk.

“MARIE! MARIE!” I could hear him yelling as I was carried down the hallway, I looked over as I passed Slim’s cell, he was at the bars looking blindly out from behind it. Listening in on all the commotion.

“SLIM!” I yelled, “Whatever you do go with them! Go with them!” I screamed at him as I was forced to continue down the hallway. Hoping Slim would understand my meaning later on, and that with a saddening heart was the last time I would ever see either of them again.

Chapter V: A Reunion of Sorts

Magneto was the name of the other man that ‘bought’ me from Mr. Sinister and in the years that I lived with him and under his tutelage I learned a few simple rules to follow.

1. Humans were the cause of all of my pain and suffering, they did it out of fear for the unknown.

2. Pain, aggression, hate, anger, now those were the only feelings you should feel if any at all.

3. Friends are just a liability, just like family. So make this team all you’ve got, because they are about as close as you can get to something you can trust.

4. Trust no one, even the team, and that is a stretch in its self.


At first I was freighted by the ways in which Magneto lived by. Death and destruction were his fortes, a complete opposite of the slave like conditions that I was accustomed to. My new bedroom was even more luxurious than that of what my father kept for us. Instead of Spartan confinements I was given an almost Romanesque quarter that seemed like the top most sweet in a grand hotel.

However these small comforts did not come without their price. My training conditions where treacherous. Harsh retaliations were given to those who did not follow orders in the preciseness in which they where given.

The first week I was there I received a lashing from Sabertooth. Ten to be exact, I still carry the scars as a reminder. The thought alone chills me to the bone and reminds me to never mess up again.

Everything is a formal matter at Magneto’s. Dinner served at exactly seven everyone dressed in their finest. Mine in something green or black maybe a red if Mystique is feeling generous with her wardrobe. Manners are of the utmost importance and poor taste will not be tolerated. I got my hands slapped one time for not asking Mystique to please pass the rolls.

Let’s just say that in the fifteen years that I have lived with Magnus I never really believed in his ‘beliefs’ as one might say. But I didn’t have anything else to go from, so I did what I was told because life was just a little easier that way. It took me fifteen years to master my mutation with out the help of that stupid piece of metal around my wrist. I also became extremely powerful, Sabertooth a.k.a. Victor Creed and his lovely assistant Mystique, taught me how to fight and to kill. Magneto just taught me the knowledge of the world.

In fifteen years I learned five different languages and had a large sum of money stacked away from stocks and other financial endeavors. So as one could say I was pretty damn worldly. But I did all of this with in the confines of the large estate that Magneto owned in New York. I wasn’t allowed to leave the grounds under any circumstances.

However, restlessness was finally taking over and I really hated being treated like a caged animal. Something I believed I picked up from the infamous Wolverine. His name is whispered here occasionally like a ghost from the past. And I would cling to anything remotely close to what was mentioned.

But soon I was to be released upon the world and eventually I wouldn’t have to stay with the idealistic Brotherhood and their unrealistic dream. I knew they battled people like the X-Men and I planed to have them help me in my escape from this horrid prison.

The mission was of simple design, even for Magneto. Wanting me to steal some information from a government base; with help from Sabertooth only, because our usual spies had either disbanded or were in the infirmary down in the basement. So tonight was the night that I, Rogue, would finally be released upon the world as a finely tuned killing machine.

Great, just what every girl aspired to be.

“Rogue suit up were leaving,” Victor barked at me from down the hallway as I rolled off my bed and made my way down to the locker rooms.

I was given a black uniform that didn’t show too much skin at all, just in case something went wrong. It had a dark forest green pattern etched up the sides of the leather pant legs that traveled up under my arms and it also had matching green boots and a matching green ring around the piece of leather that protected my neck. The only skin that showed after putting on my short leather gloves, was my face.

“Everyone knows what to do?” Magneto asked as he put that stupid bucket looking helmet on. I just nodded at him and followed Creed to where our ride would be waiting.

Ten minutes later we were on the outskirts of the base. I had a moment’s flash back as I noticed similarities in this base and the one I used to live at all those years ago. Magneto made quick work of the metal fence and Sabertooth took out the guards as we waltzed into the lab with barely so much as a scuffle. I made it to the control room while Magneto and Sabertooth made sure I had a clear exit.

I downloaded the files on the mainframe computer in the control room on to my flash drive and ran out of the building as quickly as possible. I made it outside when I heard Sabertooth’s loud roar.

“FUCK!” I screamed as I saw Sabertooth get fried by a bolt of lighting. Magneto was fighting a woman with red hair and a man who was shooting laser beams from his eyes. I just rolled my eyes at the scene. They couldn’t even make me an exit for ten minutes.

“Yo! Mages I got the stuff let’s get goin,’” I hollered at him as I started to sprint for the little exit Magneto had made for us prior to entering.

“I don’t think so!” Screamed the woman who apparently shot Sabertooth with the lighting bolt. I just smirked at her she really had no idea what she was getting into.

“And what exactly are you going to do about it?” I asked her placing a hand on my hip and giving her my best cocky smirk. But that’s when I noticed the guy with laser beams start to approach me from my right.


“Storm, fry her!” The man told the white haired woman. I looked at the tall man before me and smiled with a sick satisfaction that I had of course picked up from my newly forced friendships.

I walked with sultriness only a fine southern woman can come by and allowed Mr. Tall and handsome to do his best. I came with in touching distance of him when that red headed witch telepathically threw me up against one of the cement walls.

Pain seared my body as I slowly rose from the ground. Anger now replaced my once playful attitude. As I stood up and walked almost painfully towards the red headed woman I couldn’t help but see her ugly red head like that of a bull in the fighting ring.

“Now sugar that ain’t no way to make friends. Didn’t your mama ever teach you good manners?” I asked her with a smile. She just looked at me with an anger that almost made me laugh.

“Who are you?” She asked through gritted teeth as we started to circle one another. I noticed that Sabertooth looked down for the count and Magneto was nowhere to be seen as we continued our fighting stances.

“Oh honey I am the Rogue, and I don’t play very nicely at all,” I said to her as I leapt towards her with an ungloved hand. She didn’t seem to get my hint at all as my hand came within a hairs worth of distances from her perfect face.

“Well neither do we!” Came the howling wail of a voice that tickled the back of my brain, a familiar voice from long ago. It was until tall and handsome had me down on my back that I realized who it was.

“SLIM!” I whispered barely over the noise of the small battle that was ensuing. He looked at me for a moment behind those rube quart glasses in what I assumed was confusion until he recognized who I was.

“Rogue?” I heard him ask me and I just smiled softly to him, hope spreading through me like liquid fire.

But nevertheless, the red headed woman I had noticed earlier didn’t realize that I wasn’t attacking him yet smiling out of reorganization and relief. Because she picked me up telepathically and threw me into the side.

“JEAN NO!” Slime screamed at her as I picked my self up from off the floor.

I watched as he moved over to me but a masculine hand closed tightly around my waist. I turned to see Victor’s snarling and blood caked face as he nudged me to move behind him.

“Time to go pet. Magneto say’s move out,” he told me in his usual barbaric way pulling me away from the one chance of freedom that I believed I would ever have.

I started to struggle against Sabertooth’s strong and near possessive hold on me. Until I felt the all too familiar chill of Magneto’s presence lingering just behind me.

“Rogue,” He said to me and I realized looking around that the battle had stopped for now.

“It’s time to leave,” he continued to say to me and I continued to move towards Slim. Hoping to get back to him. But when he stopped and looked from me to Magnus I knew something wasn’t right.

“Your with them?” Slime asked me with a face of disappointment and near disgust.

I just shook my head at him trying to make him understand that ‘no I wasn’t with his enemy.’

“You know what they say Cyclops. A life for a life,” Magneto told him as Victor jerked me back behind him and back towards our escape pods.

I watched as I was slowly dragged away from my brother and my only chance at freedom. Probably my last chance too.

Chapter VI: Chrome and Steel Tower

“That was a stupid move on your part,” Magneto’s bone chilling voice told me as it echoed across the large room.

“I did not know that me trying to get your asses out of the sling you put it in was a stupid move. In fact I felt it to be quite brilliant,” I told the old man before me with a wicked smile.

“Running to the X-Men does not constitute by any means as a brilliant plan,” Eric continued to counter with a raised voice and long pointed bony finger.

“You know I think you’re just mad cause you lost once again to the famous X-Men,” I said as I walked towards his steel desk.

“You my dear are coming too quickly to conclusions. For if you haven’t noticed we did not lose. In fact we are one step ahead of them,” he said to me with a calculated smirk and almost wicked tone of voice hidden just behind that smile.

“Yea how so,” I asked in question.

“You received the files like you where asked to do. However your elaborate display of disloyalty has in fact worked into my favor, for once,” he continued.

“For now the fearless leader of the X-Men is now more concerned about your ware abouts instead of concentrating on what we actually took. Except of course even if they do try to find out what we took it will have no real meaning to them anyways,” Magneto summarized to me and I was left conflicted.

“What did we take anyways?” I asked with that bubbling curiosity that seems to always plaque me.

“It does not really concern you, my dear. What I really want to know is how you and the X-Men’s charming captain Cyclopes know one another,” Magneto asked with his skeptical yet knowing eyes.

“Why do I have a feeling you already know the answer to that question?” I asked him defiantly hoping he wouldn’t see past my mask of betrayal.

“I have some idea on how you might know him. Seeing as how the only people you see since you’ve moved in here are all living within the confines of this base, I can only guess,” He deduced to me as he swirled mindlessly a few paper clips around the top of his sterile metallic desk.

“Then your deduction my dear sir is quite right, I knew Cyclops before my introduction to you,” I told him truthfully trying not to give to much away.

“Yes I figured as much, but the really question is how? How is it that a young girl with no family, that has lived a reclusive life for over fifteen years could in fact know the famous leader of the X-Men?” he persisted trying to get as much information out of me as possible. Why he wanted to know is beyond me. Probably to use it against him in the future was my only guess at this point.

“We were childhood friends. He lived with me and a few others at the facility I was in before I was moved here,” I concluded hoping that would be enough from me to satisfy him.

“That it my dear?” Magneto asked always the skeptic as usual.

“Yes, that is it,” I said with a finality and hope for the ending of this conversation.

“You may leave now,” Magnus said with a wave of his hand as his paper clips flew back to their originating positions on his desk. So carefully placed as if they were his children. But of course Magneto has children and we all know how he truly cares for them.

I made to leave with an indifference I prayed he would catch, however as I reached the exit from his prison like office he spoke to me so eerily I almost didn’t believe it to be him.

“You will never leave me Rogue, you belong to this Brotherhood more than any of the others ever could be. So don’t make the mistake of trying something stupid. You’ll only get hurt in the end.”

I sighed and closed my eyes at his words, knowing the truth of them before I made my way out of the cold unfeeling office. I walked with a disheartenment I hadn’t felt in years. Making my way to my room that I felt was my cage. I let the thought of Slim rescuing me from my metal imprisonment; fill me up with a hope.

But Eric’s truthful words crushed that small hope like that of his enemies. Reminding me of my reality. My life forever trapped within this chrome and steel world, never to feel the comforting hand of a friend or the tender kiss of a lover again.

At the thought of a lover my mind immediately went to the only lover I ever had. His golden eyes forever imprinted into my memory like that of one of my five senses. The roughness of his large hands as they traveled aimlessly across my pale, white flesh, the sensation of his wet kisses as they crossed untouched terrain.

The thought of it left me breathless and in want, but I knew better I let the melancholy of my life surround me. Sucking away that brief moment of happiness like death’s immortal kiss, a coup fatal if I ever saw one.

I laid there only those red and black silk sheets in disdain. Hopelessness filled me like no other ever has. When I was moved into Sinister’s house of pain, I was ecstatic to be leaving that confounded orphanage. When I was transported to Magneto’s the relief of Logan and Slim’s escape kept my own despair at bay.

Yet now, seeing Slim again, I feel that despair I had kept locked away deep within me for all these lonely years of solitude. Sleep eventually found me, taking me away momentarily from the disappointment of my life.

I don’t know how long I was asleep but the constant stream of banging on my worn door left me less than wanting. Victor’s booming yet demanding voice echoed like a screech in a closed room.

“Wake up!” He yelled over and over and over again at me.
“Wake up! Wake up!”

“Wake up, wake up. Is that all you know how to say?” I asked him through the door as I made my way groggily to open it.

“I could say a lot more but Magnet head says I have to play nice with you,” he growled as I swung the door open allowing him access to my sanctuary.

“And why’s that, he never cared about what you did to me before,” I said with squinted eyes.

“Apparently you’re his new favorite, congratulations frail. Your one of the team,” Victor said as he threw himself into one of the large chairs in my room.

“Why? I thought ‘my display of great disloyalty’ or whatever would keep me off the team forever?” I kept asking him as I stood with hands on my hip.

“Well from what bucket head says, that since the X-Freaks know about your location anyways why keep you locked up in your ivory tower? So congratulations, you’re official. Now get suited up we’re leaving in thirty,” He said to me as he lifted his massive form off of the velvet draped high back chair and exited the room as I stood there in disbelief.

Why would old magnet want me on every mission now? Unless it’s to distract Slim or to prove to me that I will never be leaving. Or is it to show the X-Men that I can’t be converted that I really am part of the Brotherhood and there is no point in them trying to rescue me?

Either way all of those are plausible or all of them are probably true. I just wonder what will happen this time around. Will the X-Men win and I am saved or will we win and I spend the next fifteen years locked behind steel and chrome?

I just wonder what will happen next?

Chapter VII: Repeat and Rescue

“Your sister!” Jean Grey yelled out standing abruptly from her black and leather high backs office chair, starring down at her soon-to-be husband.

“You never once mentioned having a long lost Sister Scott,” She continued furiously to the man she had love for many years and hopefully many more to come. Unable to fully grasp the idea that her husband, the man she thought-no believed told her every secret, every detail of his life was suddenly not the man she knew. He had secrets not even the wonderful Ms. Jean Grey new about.

“Jean, it is not Scott’s fault that he has kept this part of his life from you. For the last fifteen years he and I have both believed Rogue to be dead. We thought at the time, that it would be best for all parties involved to let Scott’s past die with Rogue,” Charles Xavier told his heroic X-Men. At his words Jean retook her seat amongst her colleges, sitting silently until Xavier finished telling what she knew was to come.

Xavier sighed in contempt at his young pupils. All three he has known for all of their adult lives. Knowing all their fears, dark pasts, and even their dreams and because of this he has considered them over all his children. Looking now at Scott he silently asked for the permission to continue on with the tale that the other two were dieing to know. With a curt nod of his head Scott agreed, folding his handsome hands under his chiseled and refined chin, waiting for Xavier’s view on the episode he would rather forget, if possible.

“Fifteen-well almost sixteen years ago I was contacted by a young girl of maybe fifteen then. At first when she told me of her situation I did not- could not believe her. That is until I received copies of some of her father’s most prized work. Documents and photographs of the conditions and experiments placed upon Scott and another unknown mutant confirmed her story. She had said the next time we had spoke that her adopted father Nathaniel Essex or as he is more famously known Mr. Sinister, was performing barbaric procedures on both Scott and the other mutant present at the time,” He stopped then and looked at the faces of the two women present. Both completely unaware of the conditions Scott had lived in before his arrival at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

Jean was starring intently at her fiancé with a look of compassion and disbelief. Ororo however was refraining from crying over the life her best friend had been through.

“It took me longer than I had intended to gather my resources and by that time Rogue was in a near panic. Apparently Sinister had found out about our little plan of action and was planning to remove Rogue from the facility as soon as possible. Her fear however did not concern herself, but in that of the futures of her brother and the other mutant. I immediately set out to extract Scott and the unidentified mutant from Mr. Sinister. However by then I was almost to late, everyone had obviously evacuated the facility taking documents and all the research with them. All that remained behind was Mr. Sinister and Scott. Sinister believed Scott held the evolutionary key to the perfect mutant and with him the end of the mutant species. Nevertheless, in the end Sinister’s dieing breath was wasted on his horrific need to wipe out the mutant genome and Scott was hence forth placed into my custody,” Xavier finished with a sad smile on his aging features.

“It took us days to bring back Scott’s eye sight with the help of his newly equipped visor created by Forge. But during those days all Scott did was call for Rogue, allowing no one to help him during his obvious time of need. I searched for her using Cerbro for weeks on end and unfortunately all I ever received was the normal static I get when searching for someone who has already past on to the after life,” Xavier summed up awaiting for the normal onslaught of questions by the female portion of his elite secret team.

“Well her being with Magneto explains why you could not locate her Professor. His ability to deflect your mutant power is widely known,” Ororo deducted from the tale she had just been told.

“Yes I have thought of that theory myself. But the only way for Magneto to successfully block Rogue’s mental wavelengths would be to hide her within his hideout. The idea alone in lunacy and I cannot phantom seeing Magneto locking up a girl for fifteen years. Eric is incapable of doing something that uncivilized and crude,” Xavier countered.

“Professor I have known both you and Magneto for along time and I believe that you and I both know what Magneto is and is not capable of. And Magneto, Professor, is capable of anything he sets his mind to, even murder,” Storm reminded her long time father figure.

“If that is the case then Storm, then why would Magneto want to show her now? After so many years of having her hidden away, it just doesn’t make sense,” Jean conducted curiously as she removed her bright green eyes from her fiancé stone hard features.

“That Jean is the million dollar question,” Xavier replied.

A silence stretched across the room as each person divulged into his or her own thoughts on the situation.

“We have to find her,” Scott announced breaking the deep thoughts of the others as he stood from his own black, leather chair.

“Scott, what makes you think we can find her again? The Professor has been looking for fifteen years and hasn’t ever found her. Why would now be any different than before?” Jean asked him.

“Because Jean, Magneto will let her out again, especially since he knows that we will go looking for her. But personally she’s my sister and it’s about damn time she came home, Scott replied to this soon-to-be wife and walked, still clad in his black, leather uniform, out of the debriefing room, leaving behind two stunned X-Men and a very proud Professor.

“Have you people ever noticed that every time you make a plan, ya’ll make it sound so easy? Yet it never ever turns out that way,” Rogue said mainly to her self than to the people in the two seats ahead of her.

“And wouldn’t you think she would learn to keep that trap of hers shut? But I’ve noticed it never turns out that way,” a very green and slimly Toad told an indigo blue Mystique in the front seat of the unmarked black van he was driving.

“You can not screw this mission up like the last one Rogue, we can not afford another failure,” Mystiques smooth seductive voice echoed calmly from the place next to their get-away driver Toad.

“It’s not like we haven’t already gone over this plan a thousand times already. Maybe this time you could call the X-Men up and tell them to please not interrupt this mission we’re on because we can’t afford another failure. I mean look on the bright side then we could skip a step or something,” Rogue mocked to her supposed leader but as she spoke a rather horribly covered up snort from Toad left the car in undesired conditions, the tension between the two women could be cut with a knife.

“If you screw this up, being left behind for the X-Men will be the least of your worries. This Rogue isn’t an abandon warehouse on the outskirts of nowhere. It’s a known lab filled with guards and scientist who wouldn’t mind having a pretty thing like you as part of their collection,” Mystique warned as she crossed her legs with delicate ease before turning back around to face the front of the car.

Rogue sat quietly for the rest of the long drive to the facility, fuming over Mystiques words that spoke the truth of this mission in volumes. Eventually the van stopped just out of the building’s parameter, taking a small amount of Mystique’s power both made their way towards their destination.

Instantly Mystique transformed her self into that of one of the many security guards, dressed in the olive green uniform that was required of them all, Mystique motioned for their advancement.

“Ya know Raven that’s a really good look on you,” Rogue snorted out sarcastically as they maneuvered towards the entrance.

“It’s Mystique you silly stupid girl and you better remember that or you’ll be left here to rot,” Mystique hissed out through clinched teeth in clear annoyance with her partner.

“Sheesh lighten up blue it was only a joke,” Rogue retorted as she smiled sweetly to the guard at the main doors of the building.

“So just the main labs and the officer’s offices correct?” Rogue asked not even looking at the now squat janitor beside her.

“I thought we went over this information a thousand times, how many times must I remind you?” Mystique asked as she pushed along a large trashcan she had acquired as soon as she entered the building.

“Until we leave of course,” Rogue smiled at her as they came to the automatic lift that would take them down to the lower levels. Rogue pulling off a duster from the trashcan and twirling it about. As they entered the lift Rogue shifted into that of an elderly janitor dressed in the same blue uniform as Mystique.

“You know Mystique if this whole terrorist thing doesn’t pan out at least you know your really good at pushing around garbage,” Rogue told her with a droopy smile she had managed to create and another twirl of her duster.

“You better watch it princess or you just might find yourself in a situation you can’t get out of,” Mystique told Rogue with a raised eyebrow and a evil grin only she could manipulate within each new form she took.

It took only a few minutes for the lift to make its way down to the lower “Non-Existent” labs. The lab themselves wasn’t what Rogue had expected. Instead of the cold gray walls and eerie green lightening it was sterile and blinding white.

“You work your way to the left and I’ll work my way to the right and we will meet in the middle when we are both finished,” Mystique ordered to Rogue who nodded in understanding.

Rogue made her way past white-coated lab personal, past people pushing carts, people with metallic clipboards and uniformed guards dressed in the same olive green as all the others.

Opening the first door she found her self in a medical room filled with cabinets that had an array of medical supplies in them. Taking out the small pouch hidden under her clothes, Rogue removed the tiny dotes and placed them about the room in unnoticeable spots.

Moving quickly Rogue moved to the next room. Inside a mousy looking woman typed furiously upon one of the five computers with in the room. The woman looked up from the computer to acknowledge who she believed to be an elderly old janitor and then quickly returned to her work.

Sighing in relief Rogue pulled out one of the dusters she managed to snag off of the trashcan Mystique had acquired. As Rogue pretended to dust the room she placed dots all about the room. Eventually the woman left in the same manner she was working in, hurried and rushed. As Rogue herself was about to exit she noticed the computer screen still had images on it that depicted the skeletal structure of a human. However as Rogue peered closer to the computer she noticed that the skeleton had many abnormalities. Taking a seat in the chair the mousy woman had just left Rogue began to read off the information about the strange diagram.

Name: James Logan Howlett

Code Name: Wolverine/ Weapon-X

Age: Unknown

Sex: Male

Mutation: Healing abilities and bone claws

Additional Information: Metal surgically graphed to his skeleton making him nearly invincible.

Last Known Location: Laughlin City, Canada

The description was all too familiar, the name stuck out like a sore thumb. Thoughts and images of her one time lover ran ramped through her mind.

How many mutants go by the name Wolverine? How many of them have a middle name of Logan? They couldn’t possibly have him here; he’s safe at Xavier’s right?

Panic started to rise within her as she quickly clicked out the screen, terrified of the images of Logan’s skeletal structure. Not wanting to know how they even were able to determine that he was indestructible. However an icon to the left hand side of the computer screen caught her eye. Clicking on the icon she was amazed at what she saw.

VACCINE-X: THE MUTANT CURE

Thinking quickly Rogue began to print the pages she had seen, fearful of what they might mean as she waited patently for them to print off. However as she waited the familiar sound of Rogue’s need to leave screeched up and down every hallway and every room of the large building.

Cursing to her self Rogue grabbed the finished documents and hid them within the confines of her uniform. Rushing out of the room she immediately made eye contact with Mystique who was making her way towards the lift that would lead them to their escape.

“Did you set that alarm off?” Mystique accused Rogue as both of them changed into guards and took off up into the lift.

“NO! Every time an alarm sounds it usually means one thing Mystique! That the leather clad wonders are waiting just outside those pearly gates to help make our grand escape!” Rogue hissed out to her in clear frustration at the idiocy of it all.

“Well it doesn’t really matter now, now does it?” Mystique mocked as the lift opened and they sprinted towards the exit. Ten paces away they both transformed back into their original forms, unfortunately for them at this time a small squadron of guards were also exiting the same doors as they were and they immediately took aim.

Running as quickly as they could a rain of gunfire fell upon them, bullets hailed down like metal rain as they tried to dodge each one. Reaching the door that would lead them to safety Rogue felt the undeniable pain of a bullet piercing not only her left shoulder but her back as well.

Letting out a scream of agony and nearly falling to the ground from the blinding pain, Rogue pushed herself to continue on, terrified of what being captured by these brutish guards might mean.

Slowly Rogue followed the path in which Mystique was taking. Guards started to pour out of the facility and into the front court yard. Bullets and searchlights followed them as they ran across the great expansion of the yard. That is until the recognizable beam of red light shot through the sky like a beacon.

Changing directions Rogue instead started to make her way towards the owner of the light. Not even being noticed by Mystique who was already ten paces ahead of her, Rogue dared not look back as she once again tried to escape the clutches of her psychotic owner.

Lumbering barely up the side of a small incline Rogue forced her self not to fall into the darkness that her body was so willingly ready to do. Blood flowed like a sticky river down her back, plastering her uniform to her cold and clammy form.

Finally in the distance just a few yards away Rogue finally caught a glimpse of the team her brother belonged to. The two woman that he was with before were there along with a strange man dressed predominately in blue.

“Slim!” She screamed out as another round of bullets fell upon her another one piercing her right leg, making Rogue collapse to her knees.

Looking up Rogue searched for Scott’s running form towards her but only saw the battle raging on. No one could hear her over the ringing of bullets and sirens and shouts from both parties.

Using whatever strength she could muster Rogue stumbled the few yards towards where she hoped her brother would be. Coming up on them she smiled in relief as they stopped their own attacks to look at her. The large man who Rogue believed to be dressed in blue, which turned out to be blue, started to make a defensive attack on her. However the red head that attacked Rogue earlier stopped him.

“Beast it’s alright, she’s Cyclops sister,” the red head said.

“Where’s Slim?” Rogue asked as she slowly approached the three X-Men.

“Looking for you,” the red head replied a small cut lightly bleeding over her right eye.

“We gotta get out of here,” Rogue told them with authority she knew she didn’t have.

“Yes Jean I believe our young friend is quite right we can not hold off this many guards for too long. You might as well tell Cyclops of our discovery and lets go home. Charles and I have tea time in about an hour,” the blue man who was called Beast said so very sophisticated that it took Rogue by surprise.

“Your right Beast, Storm start the Black Bird we’re moving out, Cyclops is already retreating back,” the woman Jean said as the she continued to defend the large black jet behind her.

The white haired woman had disappeared upon the lift leading up to the jet and only seconds later did Rogue hear the sound of engines coming to life.

“Come now, let’s get you inside the jet before Cyclops has a conniption,” The blue man said with a soft smile that Rogue strangely enough thought was quite charming.

As Rogue followed Beast into the jet she was amazed at its luxury and high-tech equipment. Leather seats in pairs of two lined each side of the spacious jet each with it’s own small looking headset and small computer.

“Wow,” was all Rogue could say as she took a seat on the left hand side of the plane.

“Yes it is quite over the top, but that is how Charles likes it I suppose,” Beast said with that charming smile again.

“How is Xavier anyways?” Rogue asked out of curiosity.

“You know Charles as well?” Beast said in astonishment.

“It’s been along time since we last spoke but I always wondered what became of him,” Rogue said solemnly as she continued to look about the jet.

“Well he is quite anxious for your homecoming that is for sure,” Beast said reassuringly as he stood waiting for the arrival of the others.

It did not take long for Jean and Slim to coming running up the plank. Both physically exhausted from defending the Black Bird. However as Scott noticed Rogue sitting on that leather seat all thoughts of sleep and a good shower escaped his mind.

“Rogue,” Scott choked out as he walked towards his long lost sister.

“Slim,” Rogue said as she stood near tears and made her way into his arms. As he rapt them tightly around her Rogue let out a hiss of pain. The sudden remembrance of being shot three times coming back as she was over come by the pain and quickly fell into the darkness her body craved.

Chapter VIII: Deception Made Easy

The metal was cold and hard beneath my back; sending shivers running up and down my body. The thin paper gown I was wearing did nothing to impede my condition as I lay there silently. My eyes still closed as if I were still dreaming of sugar plumbs and fairies as I took in the sounds around me.

The steady beep, beep of a machine, the slow drip, drip of a something to my right and the raspy blowing of hot air against my left hand. Sounds and feels that left me slightly confused and disoriented. Cautiously I opened my sleep leaden eyes, momentarily blinded by the harsh white light above me. It didn’t take long however for me to fully realize where I was.

Cords stuck in my arm and some placed upon my chest had terror filling inside of my life a hot air balloon. Fear flooded my sense as I gripped the sides of my metal bed; panic grabbing me and taking me gradually down into its black abyss. Just like the mutant Abyss I had encountered at the Brotherhood mansion a few months back. His mutant ability takes you in sucking out all of the hope you have. Allowing only the panic, fear and turmoil to rule your body.

Thinking of that terrible monstrosity I pushed my self up onto the bed. Knocking whatever had been blowing that hot air onto the floor with a loud clang and groan. It wasn’t until then that I realized I wasn’t alone.

“Please, please, not me, not me too,” I begged closing my eyes tightly praying that my childhood nightmare hadn’t come true.

“Rogue?” the groggy, slightly familiar voice of the ‘object that blew hot air’ called out to me. Peeking open one eye I was relieved at what I saw.

“Slim?” I asked as the man stood up from his fallen position on the floor.

“What are you doing?” he asked me as I slowly allowed my fear to subside and come back to myself.

“Oh…I was…I am sorry Slim, I think I forgot myself for a moment,” I apologized to him as I lowered legs over the side of the metal bed.

Slim just looked at me for a long moment as I did so, his eyebrows knitting together in the usual fashion as he did when he was just a boy. He didn’t say anything for a while just watched as I calmed my racing heart down and allowed my new reality to sink in and take hold of my senses.

“It’s been a long time Rogue,” he stated apparently leaving my outlandish act for another time.
“Yes Slim, to long,” I replied grateful for the change in topic.

“I thought you were dead,” he resumed. His covered eyes masked his true feelings from me but still giving the impression that he was here for answers and not childish hugs and kisses.

“It takes a lot more than a few self-obsessed men to take me out Slim,” said I with a smirk.

“Where have you been? It’s been fifteen years and not a word from you,” he said to me. Sounding all the years he lived and more, so exhausted from his fights with humanity and for the tiresome act of hoping for my survival.

“I’ve been in the same place for the last fifteen years. Deep inside the fortress of metal and chrome, locked away as Magneto’s private fairy tale. Only in this story the princess doesn’t get saved by a white knight,” I told him with a sarcasm laced with bewilderment. He just stared at me like it wasn’t enough; as if my little tale couldn’t-wouldn’t fulfill the questions he had for so long.

“What do you want me to say? Umm? It was either my life or yours Slim. I had no choice, I didn’t want to go, and I tried to escape. Don’t you remember? I tried to get away, tried to get back to you. I just…I just wasn’t strong enough then,” I desperately tried to explain. Tears started to form at the corners of my eyes as the memories filled my mind.

“I just don’t understand Rogue. What happened? The Professor never gave me the full story,” He pleaded with me and all I could do was look away as I closed and re-closed my eyes.

“He…I…I don’t know were to begin. I guess it really all started out when I finally realized daddy dearest was really doing. He wasn’t out to help you or others like us it was torture. Plain and simple and I couldn’t stand the screams and all the blood, sweat and tears anymore. I just couldn’t, not after…I had Remy help me. Know one knows that, not even the good Professor. He was actually a nice guy after all, well after I scared him a bit that is. He was more than willing to help. I had him contact Xavier for me in the beginning, apparently he helped bring a girl here once from Africa. Anyways, he got me the phone card and the phone and Xavier and I started to plot our escape,” I paused to check his emotions. He looked completely out of sorts.

“It was after…after I found out Sinister and Striker knew about the plans that I had Xavier come get you. At that time I also found out their deal with Magneto. Striker made a deal with him, safe passage from Xavier, which included all mutant specimens and research. All of this for the cheap, cheap price of me. Ha! I don’t think Magneto really knew what he had done to get me. But as Magneto use to say: They were too human to truly see my potential. Or some crack like that.”

“Luckily for you Sinister didn’t really agree with that idea and decided to stay behind with you and his precious research. I am oblivious as to what happened after that point. But you’re here and safe so I guess it all worked out in the end anyways,” I concluded.

“I was unaware that all of that had occurred,” he said through clenched teeth. I just shrugged and started to absently swing my feet.

“You shouldn’t have done it,” I stopped my motions and turned to look at him in disbelief.

“What did you expect me to do? Not allow you this life, the life you deserve? The life I worked damn hard to make sure you had. Not grant you the family and friends you have now? Or did you really want me to leave you there in your five by five cell and let you rot? Sorry but not even I am that selfish,” I nearly yelled at him as I stood from my metal bed.

“You shouldn’t have had to do it.”

“Well this isn’t Neverland Slim! This is our reality, our lives. And if I died tomorrow I would be so glad to know that the life I sacrificed to save yours was worth it! I don’t regret it and neither should you, you ungrateful self centered bastard! It was my choice, my decision to make. So please just shut up and tell your friends it is rude to eavesdrop on a visibly private conversation,” I yelled at my brother.

He turned then as two boys and two girls appeared from behind one of the pillars.

“Alright tell me how much did you hear?” He asked them in a very angry serious tone.

“Not much,” the Asian girl in yellow said. Slim just looked at her for a moment before turning to the shy looking brunette.

“Katherine?” He questioned her, I watched as she looked from Slim to the others and then back at Slim.

“I…well we…okay everything.”

“KITTY!” They all yelled at her as she looked at them in her innocent way and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Guess that means the cat’s out of the bag Slim. Might as well just let it go, doesn’t matter what ya do to them now cause by the time that’s over with the whole school will know,” I said with a sarcastic laugh.

“Rogue if I wanted your opinion I would have asked,” Slim said to me through clenched teeth.

“Now Slim-Jim your just mad cause once again I was right and you were wrong. You’re just mad cause I saved your sorry ass and now the whole school will know that even the fearless leader is human,” I said almost sympathetically. The kids looked from me to Slim and then at themselves.

“Rogue this is St. John, Robert, Jubilation and Katherine. They will be your new teammates. Junior X-Men this is my sister Rogue,” Slim said to us as we all looked uncomfortably from one person to the next. However it was the boy-next-door, Robert, who stepped forward.

“Hi I am Bobby, welcome to mutant high,” he says with that boyish smile holding out his hand in friendship. I look from him to his hand and then to Scott allowing him to tell the story.

“Uh Bobby Rogue’s mutation doesn’t allow her to touch anyone skin to skin. Sorry Rogue I was more relieved to have you back that I completely forgot. We’ll get you some gloves and other necessities as soon as possible,” Slim explained and I just smiled and thanked him for his consideration.

“Girls will you please show Rogue to her new room and please find her something more comfortable to wear for now. Also Rogue I’ll tell the Professor that you’re awake, he’ll want to speak to you,” Slim delegated out to us and I just simply smiled and followed the two girls out of the hospital, the boys close behind.

--MAGNETO--

“Explain to me again why you do not know where she is Raven. Because I for one can’t fathom that you, my most trusted and faithful member could lose our most valuable asset,” Magneto’s furious voice echoed across the great expansion of his metal covered headquarters. Raven Darkholme stood as always, disinterested, uncaring and silent as her long time employer and partner in crime berated her.

“It is not my responsibility to baby-sit your pets Eric,” she replied coolly raising a perfectly arched red eyebrow. It was Magneto’s haughty laughter however that brought forth a questioning glare upon the features of the deadly Raven Darkholme.

“It doesn’t matter what or who she is to me my dear, it matters to you. You have for a better part of two decades built your life around this Brotherhood and me. Everything you have ever worked for, dedicated your life too is within these strong walls. What do you think will happen, my dear, if the government gets a hold of her or worse the X-Men? We both know our dear Rogue was never dedicated to our cause, she was as you have said, just my pet. However, like every good pet she pays close attention to the hand that feeds her. She knows every detail about you and this operation. It would be a shame to have all those deep dark secrets of ours revealed. And I wonder Mystique how long you will last before Rogue becomes your undoing?” He stated with a cold revere and his usual calculated expression.

“You’ve forgotten my old friend, I am very good at what I do,” She countered changing her blue form into that of handsome young blonde. Magneto chuckled at her display, leaning back in his chair as he replied to her obvious confidence.

“Yes Mystique you are very good at what you do. Unfortunately Rogue is better.”

“As of this moment you are being reassigned. You will find my precious pet, as you so lovingly call her, and you will bring her back to me. You will leave immediately and you will not return until you have her in your custody,” he ordered her with such authority that she didn’t even respond as she turned to leave. Her body rigid with jealousy at the idea that the man she has served faithfully for years would easily choose that slip of a girl over her.

“Oh and Raven, if you can not bring her back to me, then don’t bother coming back at all,” Eric said to her as she had just made it to the door. She stopped at what he had just said to her, she didn’t even respond, just stood their for a moment and with whatever pride she had left in her left the Brotherhood Mansion in search of the Rogue.

--XAVIER--

“So you’re the mighty fearless leaders sister?” the boy John questioned me again as we sat on the three beds in Jubilee, Kitty and mine’s room.

“Yes” I replied simply feeling all the twelve year old as I sat cross-legged on my new full-bed.

“So like is it true that you used to work for old bucket-head?” Jubilee asked with a loud pop of her bright pink bubble gum. I couldn’t help but snort at the idea of someone such as this yellow clad wonder calling the menacing Magneto Bucket-Head.

“I would have to say Jubilee, ‘work,’ wouldn’t be the right word for it. I was bought and paid for by him when I was fifteen, I had no choice. All I have done in these years was because I was told to do so, never because I wanted to,” I told them with a shrug.

“So you have got to tell us. Has Scott always been a stick in the mud?” John asked with an almost evil grin and a strident snap of his lighter.

“Slim? Never, he used to get us in so much trouble when we were little. Once he put bright green hair dye in Belladonna’s shampoo, you could hear her screaming for miles. Had to be the funniest thing I had ever seen! Oh well she deserved it. But he was a blast when he was younger, my best friend,” I laughed and said with a smile at the remembrance of some of the fun we use to have. “You know though, I never did find out where he got that green hair dye.”

“And you’ll never find that out either. It’s what keeps me mysterious,” Slim said from the doorway of my room and I just smiled for all I was worth. The other occupants not truly believing the story baulked at his answer.

“Scott Summers your about as mysterious as a bed post,” said I.

“Hardy har-har and your about as funny as Bella’s hair,” he replied with a playful grin.

“Why Mister Summers was that an attempt at a joke?” I asked him with my thick southern accent that had faded away years ago.

“Alright Rogue come on the Professor wants to speak with you now,” he said with a wave of his hand as he moved out of the door way and into the hallway. I eased myself off my bed saying goodbye to the group around me. Knowing well that they would all end up becoming some of my closest friends and teammates.

“I’ve missed you Rogue,” Slim said as we made our way down various hallways. His hands stuffed deep in his pockets. Making him look years younger and I couldn’t help but wonder if what all the others were saying were true. That the once funny, outgoing, charismatic boy I once knew grew up to be an uptight, indomitable workaholic.

“I know Slim, I’ve missed you too. You know that,” I said to him as I let the silence fill between us. He sighed as we started our way down the beautifully handcrafted staircase.

“You’ve changed,” I finally said as we moved closer towards what I supposed was Xavier’s office.

“That’s what we do Rogue. We change, sometimes for the better and sometimes—for the worse. But in the end we all change at some point,” he solemnly said to me.

“Yes I guess your right on that. I just wish you hadn’t changed so much,” I admitted.

“Yea me too sometimes. But then I remember what life use to be like and I can only think that maybe if I were just stronger, faster and braver that would have never happened. For nearly two decades I have tried to be this person that you have always been to me. I think I’ve put you up on this pedestal, made you my matriarch just so that I would have something to work towards,” he confessed to me and I could only nod.

“Sometimes Scott it’s okay to work towards something, but at some point you have to realize being who you are is more important than trying to be someone who your not. I know that everyone in this school looks up to, needs you. You have done everything I thought you could ever do. You’ve gained friends, family and have become the leader I knew you always could be. I could never be prouder of you than I am right now. It fills my heart to know that what little good I tried to do helped make so many people, especially you happy,” said I.

“You have always been so selfless,” he said to me and I couldn’t help but chuckle at him.

“So tell me Slim, how long have you’ve been a stick in the mud?” I asked looking at him from the corner of my eye. He stopped in his place and just stared at me.

“I am not a stick in the mud?” he protested in shock.

“Yes well that’s not what rumor has said. As many have put it, you are ‘the mighty fearless Cyclops, leader of the infamous X-Men and a royal stick in the mud.’ Personally as a supposed evil-mutant-slash-terrorist-slash-enemy of the said X-Men and newly appointed POW, I myself wouldn’t want a title like that to save my life,” I told him almost doubling over with laughter at his expression.

“Who said that? I want names Rogue! And how come you know that and I don’t? I have never heard that before!”

“That’s because you’ve lived in the dark way too long and because I know everything,” I smirked at him.

“HA! If you know everything then I’m Victor Creed’s twin brother,” he said to me and I shoved him for mocking me as we resumed our quest for Xavier’s office. Once their Slim didn’t even bother knocking as he entered the spacious office of Charles Xavier.

“Ah Rogue, it is so good to see you up and about. I do hope you are comfortable with your new accommodations. I am sorry to say that we could not place you in your own room. We are at the moment a little over crowded. However the moment an available room becomes available it is yours if you wish,” Xavier apologized and I explained that it was quite fine and I wouldn’t need to move at any point unless otherwise instructed. He smiled at my reply thinking it reasonable as he continued on with our discussion.

“Obviously you have already guessed that I am hoping you will stay with us for as long as you prefer. Also I would like to offer you a position as one of our junior team members of the X-Men. Just for now of course, we all know you are advanced in your skill level, but I am hoping to get the younger recruits acquainted with your technique first before allowing you full membership with the X-Men,” Xavier explained and I nodded telling him that was understandable and accepted his offer.

“Excellent, now Scott is the main leader of the X-Men. He oversees all training sessions for both X-Men and Junior Members as well as teaches all levels of Math. However Ororo or Storm is our co-leader and she trains all the Junior Members and teaches all levels of History as well as teaches Piloting. Our on-call doctor is Jean Grey who teaches the Sciences. I of course teach Philosophy and English. And Dr. Hank McCoy or Beast comes in twice a week and teaches Political Science and the Advanced Science and Math courses. All Members of the X-Men must learn how to fly the SR-17 Black Bird and our helicopter. We will start you off with team training and have Storm do private lessons with you for piloting. Scott please take her down to the danger room and have a suite made for her,” Xavier concluded and we were dismissed.

“So ya’ll five do everything?” I asked as we made our way towards a large silver elevator at the end of the hall.

“Yes, its hard work but it pays off in the end,” he said as we entered the lift.

“I bet. Will I be allowed to teach something once I’ve been inducted to the X-Men?” I asked.

“Depends,” he said.

“Depends on what?”

“If you’re good enough and what you’re qualified for,” he said and I just looked at him in disbelief.

“You’d be surprised Slim-Jim at what I am qualified for,” I said to him with an air of confidence.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“I worked for Magneto remembered? He likes only the best of the best. So I had the best teachers in the world. There’s only two people in this world that can compete with me,” I said with a huff and raised head.


“Yea and whose that?” he asked and that’s when it hit me.

WHERE’S LOGAN?

Before He Forgot Us: Chapter 9 Saying Hello For the First Time


I walked with a purposeful gait into the luxurious study of one Charles Xavier. Shaded lamps that gave off a comfortable glow dimly lighted it. A small collection of books lined the shelves of two ornate bookcases to the right of the study. On the left large ceiling to floor length windows simply adorned opened the study with a delicacy and elegance few could capture. Maroon-Red leather sofa’s, chairs and matching loveseats completed the elaborate décor of the scene before me.

Headmaster of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters sat as always in his high-backed silver electric wheelchair. He seemed to be immersed in deep thought as he looked pensively out his large ceiling to floor length windows.

“Sit Rogue, over here,” he said to me with a simple gesture of his right hand, never allowing his eyes to leave the great expansion of his property.

I walked unhurriedly as if with caution to be he had indicated with the gesture of his right hand. I sat quietly on one of those maroon-red leather chairs. Looking upon the Professors facial appearance, the shaded lamps glow giving him a much more aged and tired exterior. I could see the deep creases of crow’s feet; laugh lines and most of all the worry lines that marred his once young features.

“I know why you are here Rogue. Your suspicions are regrettably correct. The man you search for isn’t here nor has he ever been. I have as I have promised you, been searching for him, this mutant you have described to me. However I must admit I have been unfortunate in finding his location,” he said to me with a deep sigh, “It is as if he had never existed. There are no official government documents, no birth certificate, no driver’s license, not even a credit card, nothing but speculations and outlandish rumors. A feral man with six, eight-inch metal claws that can do more damage to any one person if he has half the mind to. Morocco, Japan, Germany, and half the states of America I have searched. Yet not even the best trackers, machineries, bounty hunters or private detectives can get a single lead on this fellow of yours. This Wolverine.”

The Professor said all of this to me with such vindictiveness that I could no longer be angry with him or even agitated. I however continued my unwavering stance of silence as he looked continuously upon his green acres.

“You have to understand my dear Rogue. I am forever in your debt. You brought to me the greatest gift I have ever been known to receive. Scott is one of the brightest joys of my long life and it is only with my greatest regret that I was unable to do this one thing you have requested of me. It breaks my heart daily to know that not even I, Charles Xavier, have the means in which to find this ghost man,” Charles apologized to me.

He said this to me with such emotion and conviction that my earlier frustrations seemed to evaporate. They seemed to disappear just as easily as my love has apparently done.
“Do not worry Charles,” I finally spoke to him, a forest green glove raised to rest upon his paralyzed knee, “we will find him. I am not disappointed in you. It is my fear that has caused me to be this way. For Logan is lost in this world without the knowledge that I am still alive. He could still be searching for me, unaware that I am safe and finally happy. Or worse yet, he could believe, like Slim that I have finally moved on from this place of the living and now six feet below Earth’s surface. It is that fear that has me frazzled Charles, not your inability to find him.”

I stood then from my maroon-red leather chair to stand, with arms crossed over my chest, in front of those ceiling to floor length windows. To stare, like the Professor, across the great expansion of this mutant haven.

“When I arrived here I had undisclosed documents in my possession. I do not know if they will be of any use but-,” I paused as I pulled out the wrinkled, blood stained documents from my new black and forest green leather uniform. I handed them to Charles with a sigh, almost as if a giant weight was being lifted from my thin shoulders.

He read each page with that furrowed brow he had on when I entered this elaborate room. His eyebrows rising up his forehead like furry caterpillars as he flipped through the pages.

“This-This,”

“This is going to be the beginning of a war Charles. Magneto already knows of this, for that I am sure of. How many others besides him? I am not positive, but if I had to guess not many. Nevertheless as you might have noticed we have time to figure out a plan of action. This is obviously still in the trail phase. Personally I give it another three years before if will be introduced to the FDA and by then who knows what might happen. Mutant acceptance? Mutant rebellion? Mutant genocide? No one knows at this point…”

“Yes Rogue you are accurate on that. But it is a marvelous discovery. However I am guessing that this mutant cure is not why you have given this to me.”

“No Professor, it is Wolverine’s file that has me concerned. But it is a mutant lab facility and who knows who is funding this outfit.” I said to him turning once again to look out those glorious windows. Bobby Drake passed by then making his security rounds. He looked all the James Bond as he pointed his forefinger out, squirting bits of ice jets out on to Ororo’s geraniums.

“We will need to locate him as soon as possible. I will send Storm and Cyclops out immediately to go and collect him. I will also fax these documents to Hank in Washington. He might find these documents more than interesting,” said he as he wheeled out of his lush study, with me close behind.

It didn’t take but minutes for the team to be awaken and ready for departure. The whirl of the SR-17 Blackbirds Pratt and Whitney J58-P4 engines could be heard in the distance as Storm and Cyclops headed for the snow-covered terrain of Canada. Xavier then escorted me to my new room were my new roommates awaited already asleep inside. We said our polite goodnights as we parted ways, him I believe back to his lofty study to continue his deep thinking and I off to bed. To sleep restlessly I am sure for the return of my love.

As I entered my room I was filled with both excited hungry and total exhaustion. Falling with a ‘humph’ on top of my green sheets, I began to stare at the bright moonlight filtering in through my half-closed curtains. Allowing for the first time in so many years the hope to rise within me. I felt fifteen again in that moment until Jubilee’s heavy breathing soon lured me into perpetual sleep.

I woke early the next morning. The sun shinning menacingly through my half closed curtains now replaced the bright moon. Waking with a heavy groan and the repeated open and closing of my eyes, I finally was able to budge my still leather clad body up off my bed. Walking like the dead I soon found the connecting bathroom. I shut the door tightly behind me as I moved about the small space. Pushing open the hot pink and sunshine yellow shower curtain, I soon relished in the showers warm curtain of hot steam.

Stepping in with excited anticipation into my own hot, warm abyss I felt the nights built up tension leave. Using what I assumed was Kitty’s respectable shampoo I washed and lathered my head and body. Finishing quickly I toweled off my now pink flesh and dressed in a hurried fashion in my leather uniform.

Taking what I guessed was Jubilee’s bright yellow hairbrush I quickly worked out the few tangles in my long tress of hair. I quickly did my hair in a low braid that swung like dead weight against my back. Once I was finished with my normal routine of getting prepared for my day, I quietly eased myself out of the bedroom. It took only the silent click of the door closing before I was sprinting off in search of the man I knew that would be waiting for me.

Basically running down the various hallways and eventually taking the staircase two at a time, it was then after the last jump that I ran into Slim. He caught me as I tried to catch myself. However our efforts to stay up right were for nothing for we both still landed with a thud onto the finely polished hardwood floors.

“Sorry Slim,” said I.

“What’s the rush?” He asked me with a smile. I just huffed at him like I used to when we were kids.

“I swear you’re rotten. You know why I am rushing,” I said to him slightly agitated.

He however thought it rather funny and his silly smile turned into a rather toothy grin. He helped me up from my fallen awkward position on the floor smiling that rather annoying smile as we stood in the front entrance of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

“Is he here? Did you find him? Where is he? Is he alright?” I questioned him in a rush. He just laughed at me at as I stood there looking rather flustered.

“Yes your mystery man is here. Now I am not at liberty to say that he is downstairs in the Med-Lab so if you please could go and talk to the Professor, I have a class I have to teach in an hour,” he said to me with a serious face. I couldn’t help but break out into a wide tooth smile that matched Slim’s early one. I didn’t let him speak anymore as I started to walk briskly towards Xavier’s office.

I didn’t wait for him to invite me in as I busted through those handcrafted wooden doors. He however seemed to be expecting me, as he sat quite patiently behind his oak desk just like he always does.

“I take it that you ran into Scott already. Please take a seat Rogue,” he said almost solemnly as he gestured towards one of those maroon-leather chairs. I like always sat cautiously down with a silent hesitation of what the Professor was going to say next.

“I am sure you are already aware that the team’s mission was a success and Logan is in our custody. However I have come to find some interesting facts about our newest resident,” he told me as he placed the ends of his fingers together.

“It seems that Logan has some sort of amnesia. All that he remembers are the events that have taken place in his life for the last fifteen years. Anything before that is just bits and pieces of flashed memories. I found nothing really coherent. It is all a jumbled mess and he can only remember pieces as if it was a horrible nightmare. Logan has no idea who you are or what your connection with him is,” The Professor told me with as much delicacy as he could muster.

I however couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t breath. I just clung almost desperately to that maroon-leather chair like a lifeline. In that moment my world seemed to crash and dissolve into oblivion like a piece of paper in a fire. My life seemed to just turn to ash and blow away like it was nothing.

“I think it would be best not to rush Logan into anything at this time. I believe it would be best to not mention your connection with him until he can fully grasp what is happening at the moment,” Xavier requested of me and all I could make myself do was nod my head as I stood up form my chair.

“I am truly sorry Rogue, I know what it feels like to lose someone you hold close to you and watch as they lead a life without you by their side. It is even harder still to think that the life they are living was never meant to have you in it. That they or you were meant for something greater than the life you could have shared. I understand that pain all to well,” Xavier confided to me and I did everything in my power to not let the tears that were forming fall. I was too old to cry over a broken heart and misguided dreams. I was to old to believe in fair tales.

I walked the halls with a rigid stiffness, my mind blank and my feet having their own purpose as I strolled with no real direction around the various hallways and rooms. Eventually I found myself in the observatory tower of the Danger Room. I watched as Storm sat on the sidelines directing the scenario below. It only took me ten minutes before I got frustrated enough to intervene with Ororo’s teaching skills. She wasn’t really concentrating on what the team was doing. She seemed tired and distracted. I watched as the team huddled together in the center of the large holographic battlefield, a Sentinel leering menacingly down upon his soon to be captives. That is if this scenario was taking captives.

I pushed the large red button that would access the lift that would take me down to the training session below. It didn’t take long before I was at Storms side watching the Junior X-Men make mistake after simple mistake.

“They’re dieing out there Storm. Their formation is all wrong, all they are is just an easy target. They’re just waiting to be killed, all it takes is one good plasma shot and they’re all dead, ” I said to her as Kitty once again fazes four people out of the line of fire.

“I know,” she said with slight frustration.

“Do you mind?” I asked her with a nod of my head towards the helpless team.

“Be my guest,” she said with an exhausted smile and made her way towards the lift to take her up into the observatory tower. I however began to make my way through fallen debris and small fires to the team that was huddled together underneath the looming figure of their soon to be grim keeper.

“Hey Rogue!” Jubilee called out to me in an almost relived voice.

“Jubilee,” I replied to her as I turned to the whole team, “what are ya’ll doing? Ya’ll are dying out here!”

“Aren’t we stating the obvious?” Pyro said to me sarcastically as he shot a large blast of fire towards the coming titan.

“Staying together like this will get you all killed, you need to split into pairs and attack this behemoth from all sides. Pyro, Jubilee ya’ll take the west side and give it all you’ve got. Iceman and shadowcat you got from the east. Colossus you’re with me and we’re going for a frontal attack. I want a full attack people, everything you got. So let lose people,” I commanded as everyone paired up and scattered like rats towards the directions I had told them.

Jubilee and Pyro were amazing as they both unleashed a wave of fireworks and small explosions. It was Shadowcat and Iceman that had me worried. Iceman seemed to take over the pair as he and Shadowcat hesitated over every move. Iceman made to many mistakes in the end because he couldn’t make up his mind. And Shadowcat ended up having to keep not only her but also him fazed the entire time just so Iceman wouldn’t get injured and ruin the mission. A waste of a useful talent if every seen before.

“All right Colossus I need a hit from you,” I said as he looked at me with confusion as I slipped off one of my leather gloves. I touched his face lightly with the tip of my bare finger and immediately the side effects from my mutation were seen. Light blue and purple veins began to form across the side of his face as his life force and mutation began to transfer to me. After I released him, he shook away the drowsiness and watched with fascination, as my body became a metal replica of my former self.

“Okay tin man suite up cause it’s clobbering time,” I said as we both rushed towards the half melted half frozen creature before us. It didn’t take us long to turn this once gigantic metal force into scrap metal. And tired as we were the Junior X-Men still seemed happy with the way the situation was handled.

“Clobbering time?” Pete asked me as we walked sluggishly towards to lift to take us up to the observation tower. I let out a small laugh at the small phrase.

“I used to know a fellow who used to say that all the time. Ugly fellow too, but the nicest one you’ll probably ever meet either,” I concluded to my metal friend, as we all gathered inside the tower. I argued within my head if I should comment on the images I had seen when I touched Pete. But I decided that, that conversation should wait for another time.

“I will have to admit that I am surprised,” Storm said as we gathered around her, “I did not believe that you all could accomplish the mission. Of course you did have some help.”

“I agree with you Storm, the team is not ready for a session like that. They have no structure and no leadership. Someone better step up and lead the team or you’ll end up on the wrong end of a plasma ray,” I added.

“Exactly,” Storm agreed as she crossed her arms and looked almost disappointedly at the group before her.

“If I may suggest Ororo,” I asked as she nodded in approval, “ ya’ll need extra sessions period. Ya’ll are all sloppy and indecisive and those are two factors you cannot have on the field. I think more conditioning and some one on one training should be added immediately if they are to ever advance quickly and effectively.”

“As good idea as that is Rogue, we are to short handed to do that,” Storm said almost defeated.

“Yes you are right, but before we discuss that situation I think you should dismiss the team,” I said and she just looked at me skeptically but did as I suggested and released the team until further notice.

“You’re to over worked Storm and with the recent events that have been playing out the Junior Team will be needed,” I said to her as she sat down in one of the few chairs in the tower.

“What would you have me do Rogue? Every teacher is at their maximum limit with teaching and the team we barely have times for ourselves let alone schedule extra training sessions,” Storm told me almost with desperation.

“Has Xavier talked to you?” I asked her and she shook her head.

“It’s imperative that they further their training. I want to take over the Junior Team. I understand that you’re second ranking with team decisions. But I have a feeling that the team won’t always be your main priority. If I take over the Junior Team responsibilities you would have extra time to plan lessons, grade papers, spend more time out of these four walls,” I suggested and I saw the interest peak within her at the mention of being outside in the open air. She was quite for a moment, I believe thinking it all over, her hand placed delicately underneath her chin as she thought it over.

“Yes I think maybe you are right, I haven’t really been outside in ages,” she said as she stood up, “I will inform both Scott and the Professor of you taking over the Junior Team.”

“Thanks Storm I really do believe it will benefit everyone involved,” I said to her as she nodded in approval and made her way to her room to finish her lesson plans for tomorrow. However she barely made it out the door before we were both called telepathically to the Professor’s study. I looked a little taken aback by it however Ororo reassured me.

“You do get used to it, I promise.”

We walked together and eventually met up with both Slim and Jean on the way. And together we four entered the comfortable office. It was then that I nearly dropped dead.

“This is Scott Summers or as the students have coined him Cyclops, Ororo Monroe or Storm and you’ve already met Jean Grey and this is Rogue,” Xavier said as he introduced us all to the flannel covered man before us.

“Logan,” I whispered just below my breath as I stared star-crossed at him.

He looked exactly the same, just a lot cleaner and better dressed. I nearly burst into tears when he made the wise crack about the Professor and us having weird names. Luckily for me he never picked up my quickening heart beat or the salty beginnings of unshed tears as he talked to us.

“It’s been fifteen years Logan. I can help you reclaim those memories, those that you’ve lost,” Xavier told him, “if you stay Logan we can help.”
“What is this place?” he asked and that’s when I lost all my courage and excused myself from the room. I was unable to stand him being in the same room with me and not recognize me, not knowing what we had together or me. It was all too much to take in.

Before He Forgot Us: Chapter 10: Accidental Truth

I didn’t go to my room like I thought I would. Instead I walked around the various hallways like I had earlier. Watching the many diverse students with little or no real interest. Eventually I did end up in the common room. I really didn’t know what I was doing there. I just stood outside the large room and watched the people in it.

I watched as Kitty Pryde pretend to listen to the yammering of Jubilee but was in actuality watching Bobby Drake. I watched as Pete sketched quietly in the back corner, his eyes looking up occasionally to capture the light that reflected off of her features, a love triangle gone horribly wrong if I ever saw one.

I then observed the oblivious Bobby Drake playing a video game with the ever so aggressive St. John. Now that was an irony in the making. Eventually my curious gaze grew rather bored with the silent soap opera before me.

Wondering in almost as quietly as any trained assassin could, I joined both Kitty and Jubilee on the floor. Jubilee smiled that bright smile as Kitty gave me her normal shy grin.

“Hey Rogue, what’s up?” Jubilee asked as she rocked back and forth cross-legged on the floor.

“Just came to talk to ya’ll a bit. Storm and I have been talking about the future of the Junior Team and where we think the program should go and what not. She has also decided during our conversation that she is just too over worked and has relinquished her rights over the Junior Team to me,” I told the girls as I to folded my legs in the same fashion as Jubilee.

“Really? You’re going to be teaching us?” Jubilee squealed alerting the others as they started to listen to our conversation.

“Yes, now there will be a lot of changes but I think they will all be for the best,” said I as Pete quit sketching and moved towards us to pay more attention. Both John and Bobby put down their controllers to also listen to what changes will be occurring.

“As I observed earlier today, you are all lacking in skills most needed to be fully effective on missions. Strom was having you learn defensive skills, which don’t get me wrong is a very important aspect of your training, but you don’t have any offensive techniques at all. Also since this is such a large team I will be, like I did during the session today, be dividing you up into pairs. Each pair will have their own private training sessions, which I will have posted for you as soon as I talk to Slim about when the X-Men train. I don’t want to have conflicting schedules. Also I will be given your school schedules so I know when it will be best to schedule your training sessions together,” said I as I looked at the team members who seemed to agree with what I was saying.

“Now first I am going to divide you up into pairs. Jubilee and John both of you worked brilliantly together, you both have that drive to unleash as much power as possible. But John we have to find you an alternative to that lighter. It will become a liability in the end if we don’t fix the problem. Both of you however need a lot more conditioning, defensive and power training. That won’t be to hard to fix of course,” I said to them, both beaming with pride that they were actually do good at something. Other than getting to into trouble and being cool.

“Kitty, I am going to be pairing you up with Pete,” I stopped then and literally saw Kitty’s face fall at what I had just suggested.

“You spend half of your time trying to protect the whole team instead of actually helping them. I think that if I paired you with Bobby, like in the session, you would spend the entire time, like you did in today’s drill, protecting him. Pete doesn’t need protecting, that much is obvious. I need for you to learn more offensive skills and some new techniques with your powers. I think they can be very helpful in the near future. You need to be able to protect yourself and not just your team members. I want Pete to pretty much take over your training because,” I paused and turned to look at the emotionless face of Colossus.

“Pete you are amazing in the field, your defensive and offensive skills are near par. However your leadership skills need more work. I think you could possibly lead this team, like Slim does the X-Men, one day,” I said and could almost make out a hint of blush forming on his pale Russian cheeks.

“Alright well if everyone is paired up, who am I going to be with?” the once again oblivious Bobby asked me.

“You’re going to be with me,” I said simply. His blonde eyebrows immediately shot up at that.

“You?” he asked in near shock.

“Yes, I believe you to be at this moment, the biggest liability to this team,” said I. It was then that I heard the snickering coming from the dastardly do-o John and Jubilee. I shot them a look and they both settled back down quickly.

“What!?” said he.

“Yes, you didn’t for the entire session today pay attention to your partner. She was defending you while you made reckless and careless mistakes. You are too hesitant and usually choose the wrong course of action. You need all the help you can get,” I concluded for him.

Everyone was quite as Bobby just stared at me with an open mouth at the truth to my words. He looked at around at his team members; none of them seemed inclined to back him up. It was obvious that Bobby’s continuous mistakes and hesitance was becoming a major problem. After this I began to stand, both Bobby and Kitty shooting me dirty looks as I began to move towards the exit.

“Hey Rogue like wait up,” Jubilee called out to me. She quickly caught up with me and together we walked up to our room.

“I know what you are trying to do,” she said to me. I just looked over at her with a cocked eyebrow at her in question.

“I think what your trying to do is good. I’ve been trying for years to convince her to let go of the idea of her and Bobby and to go for Pete. I mean it’s like been so obvious for years that he loves her. And your right about Storm and the other teachers, they’re all over worked. There’s just to many of us like you know?” she told me with a pop of her bubble gum as we got off the stairs and began to make our way to our room.

“Yes, I’ve noticed that. The student teacher ratio is to great, I think its time the Professor either hired some new faces or starts using some of the ones he has now,” I said to her.

“What do you mean?” she asked as we continued to stroll down the wood paneled hallway.

“Maybe start a teacher-student work program,” said I.

“Like a teachers aid?” she asked.

“Yes, and maybe start getting some of you certified for teaching. This is your last semester in High School is it not?”

“Yes, but do you really think the Professor will go for it?”

“What choice does he have?” I asked her as we finally entered our room. She just smiled that bright smile at me again as we began to start getting ready for dinner.

Dinner arrived at seven, children of all ages moved about the various hallways and the staircase. Jubilee walked arm and arm with as we descended the heavily handcrafted wooden stairs.

“Yea I really think that you and Pete and maybe even Kitty would be great teacher aid’s. You more so than the rest, actually have you ever thought of like being Xavier’s assistant? You know with helping with registering the new students, helping create next semester schedules, planning the dorm rooms, extra circular activities and maybe even some P.R. work. Things like that, I think it would really help organize the school and take some of the load off a few of the teachers and Xavier,” said I.

“You know I never really thought about it, but now that I am it like sounds totally like what I am interested in,” she said excitedly.
We finally made it down the stairs and eventually entered the dinning room. The table was abnormally long and adorned with a feast for kings. Children started to find their places, filling their plates with various culinary foods and garnishes. Jubilee and I sat closer to the head of the table where the Junior Team and the X-Men sat.

It was when Xavier entered the room that my happy attitude and discussion with Jubilee took a turn for the worst. Logan entered the room with that carefree, uncaring attitude that left my heart in race against what I am not sure.

“Wow…look at that,” Jubilee leaned down to whisper to me and I just nodded unable to take my green eyes off of him.

“Ain’t he something?” Jubilee continued as the man in question sat down in the only available seat, the one right next to me.

“Hey,” he said as he pulled the chair back, sitting down with the never forgotten heavy thump I had become so accustomed too and as remembered he waited patiently for some of the food to be passed down his way. I didn’t say anything for fear of saying the wrong thing and just nodded a hello and diverted my eyes.

Eventually I passed him the turkey, the rolls, mashed potatoes, the gravy and just passed the peas over to Xavier. I didn’t even realize my mistake until Xavier made a comment about Logan wanting peas.

“Logan hates peas,” said I and I cringed inwardly at my mistake.

I looked up at Logan sheepishly and all I received was a cocked eyebrow and a curious look.

“How would you know?” Jubilee asked and I started to fumble around a bit till Scott intervened to my rescue.

“Rogue must have touched him, right Rogue?” Scott said to me and I just nodded.

“What do you mean?” Logan asked.

“When Rogue touches another human being she absorbs their life source and memories and in the case of a mutant, their powers as well,” Xavier concluded as he took a sip of his water. His blue eyes staring me down as I ate some of my mashed potatoes.

“Interesting,” was all Logan said as he dug into his dinner and I immediately let out a sigh of relief.

Luckily for me the rest of dinner went without incident and when it was over I was more than willing to leave.

Rushing through dinner I excused myself politely and exited the dinning room with so much earnest I thought I might explode from it all. But once I had safely escaped Logan’s presence I slowed my pace and walked as usual up the hand carved wooden staircase towards my bedroom.

I walked almost sluggishly down the wooden-paneled hallway. Not really paying attention to my surroundings as I made my way to my new room. Thoughts of Logan seemed to fill inside my head as I covered the small distance that was left to my room.

“So you can see anyone’s memories?” the strong, deep voice that I had dreamt about for many nights in the last fifteen or so years. I hadn’t even heard him come up behind me and in my fright I had jumped quit a few inches off of the floor.

“Sorry,” he said to me with that sheepish grin I know to be a telltale sign that he really wasn’t.

“It’s alright,” I say as I slowly calm myself down.

“So can you?” he asks me again and I am confused at first but then I remember,

“Yes I can see memories, thought, dreams everything really. And as Slim said earlier I also retain mutant abilities for a short while as well. However,” I continue figuring since he is unknowledgeable about everything pertaining to me that I might as well fill him in, “I can not control it and if I or someone else hangs on for to long I can kill them.”

“I’m kind of hard to kill,” he said and I couldn’t help but snort at his arrogance.

“I’ve killed stronger, fast and a lot more invincible than even you Wolverine. I probably the only person in this world who could take you out with just the tip of my finger,” I said slightly agitated that he would assume that I wasn’t as strong as I was known to be.

“What ever you say darlin,’” he said to me non-believing. His eyebrows cocked in such the usual manner that a great pain resonated deep within the creases of my heart.

“Humph, even Sabertooth couldn’t even defeat me and I know for a fact his healing factor is ten time faster than yours,” I countered back. Pressing my luck as I usually did when I was around him. But I know him better than he knows himself and I know when enough is enough. I know exactly what buttons to push to make him want me all over again.

“Ha! That over grown cat? He ain’t got nothin’ on me princess,” he said leaning into me a little. The man really was just too predictable.

“Ah come on Logan don’t be jealous. He didn’t touch me for that long,” I purred back to him as I leaned forward myself. I almost extremely pleased with the out come, for he gave me a wicked kind of smile that sent shivers down my arms.

“I don’t get jealous and personally I think you’re just a little scared,” said he to me.

“Scared? Scared of what? Of you? A man I can kill with just a brush of my fingers on your skin,” I asked crossing my arms. Knowing I was pulling him like the prey he was.

“No darlin’ I know you ain’t scared of me. I think you’re scared of what you’ll see,” he said darkly.

“Logan trust me theirs nothing you’ve seen, experiences or dreamt about that I myself haven’t already seen first hand. I might be young but I’m not that young. You’re deep I’ll give you that, but your not deep enough to scare me,” I said before turning around and walking the rest of the way to my bed room. A happy smile playing on my face as I left Logan standing alone in the hallway.


I sat in my room later that, Jubilee and Kitty already asleep in the darkness of the room, and replayed the conformation over and over again in my mind. I couldn’t help but smile at knowing he was safe again and oh so near me. It left a warm feeling in me that I dared to leave me.

I lay there for hours in the darkness of my room, listening to the nights little sounds. The small creeks in the floorboards as someone crept across the hallways on there way back to bed or going to the kitchen for a midnight snack. The slow hum of music playing softly not three doors down in John’s room. The giddy laughter of the younger girls across the hall could not be mistaken. Yes when all is supposed to be quite and dark in the hallways of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters it seems to be quit the opposite.

It was during the symphony that I was listening to that I heard the first sounds of distress come not five doors down. The loud moaning that only an avid listener could foretell. In plain curiosity I pulled back my bedclothes and stepped upon the cold hard wood floor of my bedroom. Quietly I made my way up that creaking hallway towards the room that the pain-filled moaning was coming from.

It took me only a few moments to realize whose room I was standing outside of. I should have known he would be the one calling out in his sleep. That the horrors he faced while captive with my father would eventually leak over into his dreams. With great caution I opened his door with a steady hand. The light from the hallway filtered through the small crack I had made. I could see the sheets twisted about his legs as he fought against an unknown assailant. His moaning had become ragged now as he thrashed about.

“Logan?” I called out from the doorway as pushed the door open further. He didn’t respond, he just kept moaning.

I walked into the room calling his name out every few feet or so. He never once acknowledged my presence or that he could even hear me at all. Finally I had reached the edge of his bed. He seemed to be fighting a losing battle as the words no…no…no echoed from deep within his throat as his nightmare reigned on. This time I leaned close to his ear; I wasn’t wearing my gloves so I let my hands hover above his naked torso.

“Logan,” I whispered. Nothing.

“Logan?” I whispered again louder this time. Still nothing.

“Logan!” I nearly screamed out and this time with a shot of such fury he rose up from the bed, claws drawn and with a fierce roar struck me head on in the chest. I felt nothing as the knives sliced through my pale skin and embedded themselves deep with in me.

I tried to say something as recognition slowly formed on his facial features. But all that came out was a gasp and a small trickle of blood. A lung. Damn. He had pierced my left lung right below my heart.

“Rogue?” he said in dreadfulness as he looked from my aghast face to my chest. I followed his line of viewing. Noticing the red bloom of blood as it stained my lavender nightgown. It was my favorite. Damn.

“Oh God…oh God,” was all he said as I slowly started to feel my heart slow down. No beating, no rhythm as the blood slowly drained from wounds and my lung began to deflate and I lost the ability to breath.

“HELP!” he screamed, “Some body help me!”

At that he released his metal claws from chest. I was able to stand almost properly for a few minutes until I began to sway. I heard the door bang open behind me as people filled in the time space. I could hear more than a few mumbled voices at what they were witnessing.

He looked at me with regret. Regret for what I know he will never know. But still I smiled slightly and gently stroked my bare hand against the stubble of his cheek. Oh to feel that against my flesh once again was heaven on Earth. It was a happy ending to what could have been a disaster.

Nevertheless I began to feel it, the inevitable pull that I most dreaded in this world. I felt as my skin started to knit together in that familiar way. I watched as the blue lines began to form along Logan’s face and neck. I watched as his eyes rolled back into his head and he slowly gasped for breath. As soon as the last of my wounds were healed I let go. I watched the man I love fall to the floor in a twitching heap.

It was then that I noticed all the people. All of my colleagues, roommates, friends, family and teammates all were staring at me.

“I’m sorry. It was an accident,” I said as I watched Slim and Jean try to figure out what would be best for their wounded guest.

No one said any thing to me as I repeated what I had jus said. No one even went to touch to me. No one wanted to.

I realized what had occurred. What I had done. I immediately set about leaving the room. Leaving behind the man I loved to be helped by people he barely knew. Who don’t know him. But I did. The small crowd that had gathered spread like the red sea as I walked between them. No one followed me. No one tried to stop me either as I disappeared around the nearest corner.

The mansion was dark. No light to help me creep along the hallways or guide me to her room. I could hear various noises. Children laughing, music playing, a television in the living room was on. A boy about sixteen or seventeen sat in the kitchen eating ice cream; he had brilliant blonde hair and ice blue eyes. He reminded me a lot of Emma Frost; I think she attended here herself back in the day. But that was a long time ago. Before this pre-war tiff we all seem to be in.

I continued to creep along the hallways, masking myself within the darkness as I made my up the stairs towards the girls dormitories. You would think that Professor Charles Xavier would change the layout of this place, I mean the documents we had were almost ten-twenty years old, yet everything is still in the exact same place. Just like he said it would be.

A man who wants to change the world yet refuses to change the décor of his own home how ironic. Eric had said as we looked over the blue prints.

Eric. That name leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. For all the years that I have worked for that crazed loon I get treated like a common new recruit. This girl, this Rogue, is nothing but a bad apple that changes sides just as much as I change shape. But then again she does have her uses I suppose.

I continued to maneuver up the stairs, my feet lithe across the hardwood floors, no creak could be heard, no shuffle could be witnessed as I inched closer to her room. However as I turned the corner to my destination I was surprised to see my prey tiptoeing her self down the same hallway. I watched her as she crept towards a door that was only a few down from her own. Muffled sobs and pleas for help could be heard from within and for a moment I believed I wasn’t the only one here for some action tonight.

She knocked quietly calling the owner of the doors name. Waiting patiently as no one responded to her, knocking again with the same response. She opened the door so carefully then, I had believed it might break under anyone’s touch if too much pressure was applied.

When she stepped inside the room I lost sight of her for a moment and had to steep out into the hallway. Fearing I might be caught I shifted most easily into that boy I had seen down stairs and hid in an empty room door-way that provided me with a most exceptional view of everything.

Logan I heard her whisper. Logan the name struck a bell in the back of my mind. Shifting through years of information I realized who this Logan was. His name has been whispered around for at least twenty years or so. I know Victor has a sore spot for him that is for sure. He goes by Wolverine I know that. But there’s something else tickling the back of my mind. As if I have had my own personal encounter with this ghost man.

Logan She whispered again. Logan, Logan, Logan. I know that name. Have had it introduce to me before. I remember just barely it had to be what? Fifteen-Sixteen years ago. No it can’t be—

I was suddenly brought back to the present when I heard the all too familiar roar of a man/beast and the sudden surprised gasp from Rogue. I moved closer almost at Logan’s door myself watching the spectacle.

Three beautifully crafted metal claws pierced through Rogue’s blouse. Only the tiniest bit of blood dripped off the end of each claw onto the floor below. I watched Logan’s features. So tormented did he look that for a moment I thought I might feel something disheartening as well.

“Help!” he began screaming, “HELP! Somebody help!”

Then with little or no grace he retracted those beautiful metal attachments with a gut wrenching SNIK! I listened to Rogue struggle for a breath, a word, anything. But it all fell dead on her lips. Logan looked up at her as a man does God and another thought hit me but I let it fade away into the darkness like the other one.

She didn’t fall to the floor, didn’t fight in pain, she didn’t even cry. She just held out her ungloved hand and stroked the side of his face. It was then that the all too familiar lines of bright blue began to snake their way up and along Logan’s features. It was a simple touch, only lasting less than a minute. But with Rogue’s body dieing it was no wonder why the pull was so powerful.

As her wounds healed them selves with the help of Logan Mutant abilities Scott Summers and Jean Grey rushed into the room. Jean immediately went for Logan and Scott stopped halfway to see Rogue. By the time Rogue even had the word Sorry out of her mouth half the school including me had packed the doorway. I stood their almost grinning as she turned to look at her growing audience.

“It was an accident,” she said, “I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

And with that she almost flew out of the room, tears flowed freely down her usually masked, expressionless features. With that thought and the others inside my head I began to form one of the greatest plans I had ever plotted on the spot.

Moving away from the door I took the elevator down to the ground floor. Phase one of my plan was complete, now phase two needed to be put into motion.

Staying in the form of the brilliant blue eyed boy I toddled my way down to the lower levels of the mansion. Smirking at myself for the ease of this operation I made it into the room that was the key to the X-Men’s undoing.

It took me only moments to hook up my contraption and move out of the building as if nothing had occurred. For the rest of the evening I moved between shapes, changing from one person to another, all the while watching the chaos of the mansion evolve around me.

Logan had been taken down to the med lab for observation. How they carried that behemoth I will never know. Scott and Jean whispered in the hallway amazed at what Rogue could really do when her mutation felt at risk. And of Rogue herself? She apparently has disappeared into the woods only moments earlier. She hasn’t gone too far. That I know. The woods are strange and tangled place. She’ll get lost long before she’ll find a way out. I think she knows that and won’t go too far in. I am safe to believe she’s still around.

As dawn rises I see her figure walk cautiously out of the woods. Her arms are wrapped tightly around herself. She avoids all of the main entrances and exits to and from the mansion. Going through a small, barely used door on the west wing of the building, I am the only one who notices that is only because I am the only one who’s watching her. I follow her up the side stairs and the appropriate hallways. I know where she’s going before she even does.

She goes up to her room. Her room mates are already in there. I notice none of them say a word as she enters. Neither had gone back to sleep after the incident I am sure. She doesn’t even take off her torn nightgown. Just crawls meekly into the soft, comforting bed provided for her by Xavier. The two other girls say nothing as they go back to sleep.

As morning finishes rising and the room mates exit the bedroom in a rush to get to their class. I wait for her. Waiting for her so I can finish what I started. I could creep into her room and slit her throat and be done with it. But then she would be of no use to me and the others. So I sit silently waiting for her, careful to not be noticed by any of the other students or teachers.

Mid day seems to be almost here when she finally decides to join the land of the living. Dressed head to toe in layers of swaddling clothing I can for only a moment see the girl she used to be back when she was just fifteen. So young and fragile she had been then, allowing no one to touch her as the world passed quickly by her. I follow her down the hallways and the staircase to the dinning hall. Even though I am not next to her, I can feel the eyes that follow her.

In the dinning hall she grabs a simply lunch. Taking her tray worth of food she all but dashes out of the room full of silent onlookers. I do not follow her immediately. That would give too much away. Instead I loiter around the dinning hall. Picking up information that I believe will be very useful in the future. I mean we didn’t even know about their new helicopter hanging quietly in the hanger underneath the school. After a minute or two I casually leave the dinning hall. Going the same way Rogue had, out the kitchen side door.

She wasn’t too hard to find. She was sitting quietly and a little depressingly under one of the large oak trees that lined the mansion property. I couldn’t help but grin in satisfaction. Rogue the hard trained mercenary that she was, was near tears over using her power on a man than can heal from anything. How ironic is that?

As I started my approach towards her I shifted my facial features from one of pure satisfaction to one of honest fear.

She didn’t hear me as I neared, lost deep within her own dark thoughts I suppose.

“Rogue,” I said as I sat next to her. Well when I mean next I mean on the farthest side of the bench as possible.

“Bobby?” she replied with some confusion.

“What did you do?” he/ I asked her.

“It was an accident. Logan--,” she tried to explain.

“We are never supposed to use our powers against another mutant,” I interrupt.

“But…,”

“The Professor is furious with you. The teachers are in his office right now discussing what should be done with you,” I tell her see her face fall as the words leave my mouth.

“What should I do?” she asks so pathetically I almost loose my perfectly straight serious face to answer her.

“Leave and never come back. It’ll be better that way. For everyone involved,” I say pretending as if Logan was some how involved. Tears almost spill over the lids of her eyes as she realizes what I am telling her. No one wants her here, she a danger, especially to Logan. She doesn’t even say anything. Just sets her tray down, nods once and bolts across the lawn as fast as Quicksilver.

I couldn’t stop the grin then. I let the grin spread into a smile as I let my triumph extend across my body. Even my eyes flashed for just a second into their normal bright yellow color.

I lingered on the out skirts of Xavier’s property just a few feet away from the oak tree I was just sitting under as I made one of the most rewarding phone calls I had ever made.

“Hello?” his dark voice said over the phone.

“It’s me. You’ll have her by the end of the tomorrow,” I smiled into the phone.

“And what about the rest of the plan?” he asked.

“Complete,” said I.

“Excellent. After tomorrow you may return to me. As of right now I have some political issues to discuss with the rest of the Brotherhood,” Magneto said to me.

“Of course,” I replied as the phone went dead on the other line. I snapped the phone shut and shifted into the tiny mauve haired girl I was earlier today. With the brightest smile I could form I skipped my way out of Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Right behind a cloak covered girl with dark brown hair and skin as pale as snow.

----------------

Magneto sat his silver phone down upon his desk and with a skillful stride motioned for his Brotherhood to follow. Entering a cold and desolate part of his Castle Magneto moved towards the only occupied cell within its black mortar and stone walls.

“Senator Kelly,” Magneto spoke out to the crumpled heap of a man on the floor.

“What have you done to me?” the senator asked in obvious fear.

“Welcome to the Brotherhood….Brother.”

New York Train Station:

I am sitting here, in a navy blue seat by the window of the train that will take me far away from here. A woman and her young son sit opposite me on the other side of the isle. They’re snuggled close together, whispering quietly to one another. Something the mother says to her son makes him smile and let out a small childish giggle.

Four seats down from us an old man sits reading the paper in his matching navy blue seat, an old duster lay across the seat next to him, his dark brown brief case lay just underneath. Behind me I can hear the muffled sound of music coming off a teenage boy’s headphones that are well hidden underneath his beanie and multiple shirts.

I sigh in content as I re-adjust myself in my own seat. Double checking and re-checking to make sure every single inch of my skin (except for my face of course) is covered from head to toe. I glance down at my small green duffle bag that I had dropped on the ground in front of me. Everything I own in the world lies within that old beat up bag.

I am heading back to my roots so to say, back to Mississippi. The train ticket in my hand weighs heavily there. It was a tough decision to leave what I now finally consider my family. It was hard walking out on Slim and Logan. Leaving them behind was something I had never really considered in any of my escape attempts. I have always made sure that they moved ahead of me in life, got to the destination point nearly two steps ahead of me.
And now? Now I am the one skipping ahead and leaving them behind.

It slashes my heart knowing that this is it. That after I leave on this train I will never see them again. I will disappear into the woodwork and never be heard from again. I will be a ghost amongst men I guess you could say.

But it’s worth it, isn’t it? Leaving them behind. I can protect them better this way. Slim can get married and have his 2.5 children and white picket fence. And Logan? Logan can finally have a normal life, the life he deserves. He can be apart of something and make a life for himself, a life where he won’t have me there to constantly remind him of the pain that he has been given in life.

It’s only a fair trade isn’t it?


Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters:

“It felt like she liked me,” Logan explained to Xavier as he stood next to him in Xavier’s large, open study.

“If she had held on any longer she could have,” Xavier replied back to the man next to him a small smile creeping up the corners of his mouth. Rogue killing the Wolverine-how very poetic.
“I didn’t know there was a soul out there that could even come close to doing what she did last night. I thought I would just live out my days until the world ended or something like that,” Logan explained further to the Professor.

“Yes, Rogue is a very extraordinary creature. She could very well be, once she works on her mutation of course, become one of the most powerful mutants on this Earth,” said Xavier. Logan looked down at the man with a skeptical look. Rogue? That small slip of a girl, the most powerful mutant on Earth? He nearly laughed out loud at that.

“Never underestimate her Logan. She can be a force to be reckoned with if pushed, trust me I know,” Scott Summer’s said as he entered the large office. Logan turned half his body around to look at the man, curiosity claiming his wild features.

Charles Xavier turned his wheel chair towards one of his oldest and truest students with a bright smile.

“Good afternoon Scott I hope classes are going well?” Xavier asked him. Scott just nodded in reply not looking away from Logan.

“What Scooter? You’re little sister get one up on ya?” Logan asked mockingly. Scott couldn’t help but smile.

“No not me, I know better,” Scott replied the smile never leaving his face.

“Scott, could you please go and find Ororo and please tell her to find Rogue for me? I understand Rogue hasn’t returned from the woods yet and I do not believe she is in the mood to have someone entering her mind just yet,” Xavier asked in his sophisticated manner.

“Of course Professor,” Scott replied and left without another word.

“Summers and Rogue are really close aren’t they?” Logan asked as he and the Professor returned to their previous conversation.

“Yes, one could say that,” Xavier told him.

“So what someone in their family die or something?” Logan asked, his curiosity reaching far beyond what he normally would consider enough information about a person. But something about this girl, Rogue, had the Wolverine in him on high alert. At first he would have to admit he was immediately attracted to the red head, Jean. But at dinner not two nights ago his attentions had turned else where.

“Rogue and Scott are not biologically related Logan,” Xavier said as he saw Logan’s face turn from curiosity to confusion. Xavier new Logan would act in this manner, questioning authority in every aspect. Nevertheless, Xavier never expected Logan to be this curious about Rogue in particular.

“When they where very young both experienced traumatic events that lead to the deaths of their entire families. Rogue’s family died in a fire and Scott’s died in a plane crash. Shortly after both where quickly adopted by a man named Doctor Nathaniel Essex. A man of science he used to call himself,” Xavier replied with a concerned look. He felt that Logan was digging just a tad too deep.

“What you didn’t believe him?” Logan asked curious on what story the two mutants had that was so hush-hush in the mansion. Even the good Professor refused to release any information on the mutant pair.

“Oh don’t get me wrong Logan, Dr. Essex was a man of science, he created some astounding things that lead to some of the research that is now used today in helping with the study of the mutant genome. It’s the way he got the information that no one believes in,” replied Xavier.

Logan just looked at Xavier with a raised eyebrow. Out of his shirt pocket he pulled out a half smoked cigar and stuck it in the corner of his mouth and began to chew on it.

“You are searching for answers that I can not give you Logan,” Xavier told Logan as Logan folded his arms across his chest. He didn’t say anything just looked down at the Professor with that cocked eyebrow.

“Yes, well then, it’s a rather long story Logan. You might want to ask Rogue about it sometime,” said Xavier as he wheeled him self over to his great oak desk.

“Well, Rogue ain’t here right now,” Logan replied as he switched his cigar to the other side of his mouth. He wasn’t going to give up on this little venture just yet. Not after Xavier blatantly trying to drop the subject more than once.

Xavier looked up at the man before him. He never really wanted to be the one to tell Rogue’s story to Logan. He had wanted that to be her place. But then again who says no to the Wolverine? With his duel personalities, (the Wolverine and Logan) Xavier had yet to be able to full infiltrate Logan’s mind. Only catching bits and pieces from him when he was sleeping and usually it was always the same scene. Logan in the lab with both Stryker and Essex’s leering over his face in that dark, green room.

No he did not want to tell this story at all.

“Dr. Essex’s was a very driven man, driven mad by his need to discover what made mutants so special, made them different from everyone else. Because of this he searched for what he believed would be the perfect mutant. He searched for the mutant that held the key to what and how the mutant gene was created and how it was formed. For more than five years or so Dr. Essex’s believed Scott was that mutant.

“Essex did terrible things to Scott even to the extent of removing his eyes and placing them back into place just to see if maybe there was a connection on that front. Essex is the reason why Scott can not gain control over his mutation. Essex removed the part of Scott’s brain that help controls the mutation within the human body.

“Nevertheless, Scott was forced to live in a cell underneath the house that for most of his child he had lived in with Rogue and a few other mutants. In this so called underground prison he lived two cells down from another mutant that Essex’s was using for other another research project. That mutant had been in captivity long before Scott or Rogue had ever gotten there. But they had kept him alive for research purposes.

“Rogue during this time period had begun to manifest when she accidentally touched one of the young men within the house. Luckily for her Essex’s believed Rogue to be uncontrollable and a waste of valuable space. But knowing he simply couldn’t just toss a mutant subject away he enlisted her into doing a job that not even Essex men were allowed to do. Rogue was placed in charge of taking care of the test subjects.

“She was forced to clean Scott and the other mutant injuries and to make sure they were feed and bathed properly everyday. It was during her time as nurse that she fell madly in love with the other mutant. A man they believed to be uncontrollable and animalistic. He had been underground and tortured for so long that he barely had any human aspects left within him.

“The mutant killed many of the Doctor’s men when entering his cell and for awhile wasn’t feed or bathed for nearly two months before Nathaniel decided to use Rogue.
He believed she was the last choice he had. If this mutant could kill Rogue, a child, then he would be terminated. He wasn’t useful if no one could get near him. However the mutant didn’t kill Rogue, instead he listened to her and came back to himself a little bit each day. Until, for while, during their last year or two together he was completely human again.

“It was during those last years together that they fell in love with one another. A story even Shakespeare would have craved to write about. It was a bout six months before we were able to get Scott that Rogue had contacted us through another mutant that had once lived at the house. With his help we discovered what they had been doing to the mutants and what they still were doing. We had planned on attacking the facility with in the week when Rogue called us urgently saying that plans had changed they were moving the mutants the next day.

“I immediately got everything ready and got there as soon as possible. But we were too late. Nathaniel had already given Rogue to another mutant, at the time we didn’t even know which one, the other mutant Rogue had been love with had also already been transferred out of the facility, or so we thought. All that was left was Nathaniel Essex and Scott about to leave to another undisclosed location.

“Nathaniel was killed during the rescue of Scott and we were never able to find out what had happened to Rogue and the other mutant. That is until we found Rogue by accident some months back. Apparently Magneto is the one who took Rogue for Nathaniel. Knowing that Rogue had a power that out shinned everyone in his Brotherhood he had to have her. So for a little more that fifteen years Rogue has been hidden away by Magneto keeping her out of the lime light until the time he needed her skills.

“What’s a Magneto?” Logan asked breaking for a slight intermission in Xavier’s tale.

“A very powerful mutant. He believes a war is brewing between mutants and the rest of humanity. I’ve been following his activities for some time,” Xavier explained. Logan just nodded his head and waited for Xavier to continue.

“In the end however Rogue was able to escape on her own and has since then lived here with us and Scott. Trying hard to recover from her own ordeal and start to finally live a normal human life,” Xavier finished allowing Logan a moment to take everything in.

Logan didn’t say anything for a long while. He felt pity for everyone in the story. Even for Scott. But he that wasn’t what was bothering him. A tickle at the back of his mind had started as if he had heard this story before, that this story was significant to him some how. But the tickle stopped and he lost whatever it was his mind was telling.

“So you ever find out who this other mutant is and where the guy is now?” Wolverine asked the Professor.

“Unfortunately no, Scott and I have looked for both of them for years and hadn’t had a lead on either of them until only recently. Rogue hasn’t given us the identity of the missing mutant. I think she just wants him to live his life the way he wants to. I don’t think she want’s to complicate his life anymore than she has to,” Xavier explained to the man before him.

Xavier hoped this was enough to impede Logan’s curiosity for now before Rogue could be returned to the mansion.

Charles Xavier hated lying to the man in front of him. Especially since he knows that with the information that Rogue has on him he could easily solve all of Logan’s questions. Well most of them that is. But that wasn’t his place and he had already said more than enough.

It was during these quite musings that Storm and Cyclopes both entered the office with near panic.

“It’s Rogue…,” Storm began as she stopped just a little past the door, but the Professor finished her sentence.

“She’s missing.”

“What do you mean she’s missing?” Logan asked as he looked at each face in the room.

“We searched everywhere and can’t find her,” Strom replied frantically.

“I thought you people could keep her safe? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?” Logan questioned them. His anger rising.

“Jean is on her way now to prep Cerbro. With Rogue’s mutation it is hard for me to locate her on my own,” Xavier explained to a confused Logan.

Logan just looked at the man as he wheeled out of the room and then went and picked up his jacket.

“Where are you going?” Scott asked from beside the door just behind Storm.

“I’m going to go find her,” Logan replied as he roughly pulled his jacket on.

“How?” Storm asked as she looked worriedly from Scott to Logan.

“The traditional way,” he said stopping next to Storm before continuing, “look.”


New York Train Station:

“Hey kid,” Logan said as he sat down in the navy blue seat next to mine. For a moment I was a little taken aback. I hadn’t thought that out of all of the people in the mansion it would be him.

“Hey,” was my cool reply.

“I am sorry about last night,” he said nearly too quiet for my own ears.

“Me too,” I responded just as quietly. We sat there in silence like that for awhile before he spoke up again.

“So you running again?” Logan asked me and I didn’t know if he was being serious or not.

“I heard that the Professor was mad at me, you know for what I did to you,” I tried to explain to him. It was true to some extent; Bobby Drake did tell me that Charles was upset with me.

“Who told you that?” He asked me with that silly raised eyebrow thing he does.

“A boy from the school,” I reply knowing he can smell a lie a mile away. We were silent again as a passenger came and sat a few seats ahead of us across from the old man reading the paper.

“You know the first boy I ever kissed ended up in coma for three weeks. I can still feel him inside my head,” I confessed to him as I looked up at him. The hood to my cloak slipped back a little and I almost reached up and pulled it back down out of habit, but the look in Logan’s eyes as I had told him about what happened the first time I ever touched someone made me stop.

He looked sad as if he pitied me. I hated that look, but for a moment I allowed myself to pretend that he knew everything and was telling me yes, he understands and wants me to come home. He’s going to tell me he wants me to go home to the mansion with him, to be with him like we were supposed to be. But of course my reality swoops in and fixes that right up.

“There are not a lot of people in this world who’ll understand what you’re going through. But I think this guy, Xavier, is one of them. He seems genuinely want to help you. And that’s a rare thing for people like us.” Logan said, I think more to him self than to me. But it still had the same effect either way.

He leaned down closer to me then, his breath tickling the side of my face as he spoke to me.

“I’ll take care of you,” Logan whispered to me and I felt my heart catch. He had once said something similar to that to me once upon at time. He didn’t keep it, I did however.

“You promise?” I say without thinking, knowing what I am doing is silly and stupid. But this is Logan and well I just can’t stop.

“Yeah kid, I promise,” he says to me and I could fall out of my seat at that. The train starts to movie and the ticket collector starts to move about the train asking for everyone’s tickets. I know Logan doesn’t have one, but I can’t help but smile at how he’s going to have to get out of this one. Because really I just couldn’t see Logan hiding in the bathroom.

We don’t even make it out of the train station before we come to an immediate halt. Everyone is lurched forward at the abrupt stop, a bag or two falls out from atop the seats on to the floor below. The mother with her son look around frantically wondering what is going on. The old man sets down his newspaper and I know the kid behind me has pulled his headphones out of his ears and is standing up.

Logan looks worried as well as he too stands up. When he’s half way to the full standing position the entire front end of the train is ripped apart like paper. I already know who can do that to a train. I too begin to stand from my own seat. Afraid, yet knowing what-no-who is behind this disturbance.

Magneto softly lands at the front of the now destroyed train. Wires hang loose and sparks start to fly here and there and I know that at any moment something will catch on fire.

“You must be the Wolverine. That remarkable metal doesn’t run through you’re entire body, doesn’t?” Magneto asked Logan as he used his mastery of magnetism to pull Logan up off his feet and start to pull at the metal that lines his bones.

“What do you want from me?” I hear Logan ground out through clenched teeth.

“My dear boy, who ever said I wanted you?” Magneto asked him with his own version of Logan’s raised eyebrow move. Logan turns his head slowly and looks with pure fear at me.

I know what this means. I know that I was wrong, so, so wrong.

“Rogue….run,” Logan ground out as Magneto pulled tighter on the metal in his body, spreading his metal claws out like play dough.

I froze for a moment as I decided if I should really run away or stop and help Logan. I knew I couldn’t over power Magneto with Logan within his grip. So I did something I am not very proud of doing. I ran.

“Young people,” I heard Magneto mumble and then all of sudden I felt something hit me in the neck and all I saw was darkness as my body hit the floor of the ruined train.

Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters:

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Logan admitted as him and the X-Men sat once again in Xavier’s study.

“I understand that Rogue is a very powerful mutant,” Logan continued, “but why is it that all of a sudden this Magneto character needs her right now at this exact moment? I mean he had almost fifteen years with her.”

“It is a question I my self have been asking all evening. I have known Eric for along time and he has never done anything to this magnitude,” Xavier confessed to the group.

“When you where with Senator Kelly this evening Professor did you find anything about whatever Magneto is planning on doing?” Jean asked as she went to sit next to Scott. She placed her perfectly polished hand gently onto his knee. She felt the tension of losing his sister spring in waves off of his body.

“Yes Senator Kelly was transformed I guess you could say by a machine that Magneto had manufactured. It severely weakened him when he used it,” said Xavier.

“So this machine draws its power from Magneto,” Scott asked coming to a conclusion.
“Yes, in fact it nearly killed him,” Xavier nodded in response.

“He's going to transfer his power to Rogue and use her to power the machine,” Wolverine spoke aloud from his own corner of the room, “when we were at dinner the other night you said Rogue drains the powers of mutants and their personality for a little while right?”

Xavier nodded in response.

“She is the perfect candidate for Magneto, Professor. Maybe that is why Magneto took her from that lab; he was already fabricating the machine. He new before hand even before he tested it on Senator Kelly, on what it would do to him long term,” said Jean as she too nearly stood from her seat at the discovery.

“He doesn’t know his machine kills others,” Ororo reminded everyone thinking back to Senator Kelly’s death only an hour beforehand. The dieing man’s words and his sudden, unexpected death set unsettled with her as they discussed Senator Kelly and what it would mean for the rest of humanity.

“Scott prep the black bird, Jean please come with me we have to make sure that we find Rogue and Magneto before it is too late,” Xavier said as the three of them left the room.

Storm and Logan sat quietly in the room waiting for word on where Rogue might be going, both hoping desperately that they could save her before it was too late.

“Magneto’s right you know, there is a war coming. Are you sure you are on the right side?” Logan asked Storm who had at some point stood up and was now staring out of one of the large floor to ceiling windows. The moonlight reflected off of her snow white hair, making it shimmer in the poor lit room.

“At least I’ve chosen a side,” She said just above a whisper to him, still staring out of the window. Clouds had mysterious started to form outside, shifting the shimmering beauty of her hair to a more ominous look as the moon drifted behind the concealing clouds.

“Yeah great side you picked. Can’t even keep your own people safe,” Logan accused from across the room. He had sat down about the same time Ororo had stood up.

“Help us then!” She said louder than Logan had ever heard from her before as she whipped around to face him, “fight with us!”

“Fight with you? Join the team? Be an X-Man? Who the hell do you think you are?” He yelled back at her as he jumped up from his seat and strode over to her.

“You’re a mutant Storm. The whole world out there is filled with people who hate and fear you and you’re wasting your time trying to protect them. You’re wasting your time trying to be their superhero. I’ve got a lot of better things to do than do that kind of shit!” Logan continued to yell at her. Ororo just stood there looking at him before she shook her head and responded.

"There's more to it than simply possessing super powers. To be an X-Man means possessing strength of will--of self identity-- that nothing can subvert. For better or worse, being an X-Man means not merely being born a mutant... but a hero.”

“Yeah and whose hero are we going to be tonight Storm if we fail and Rogue dies and half of the world leaders go with her? Tell me who, then Storm, who will be their hero’s then?” Logan asked her but before she could respond Scott all but kicked down the door trying to reach them. Both Storm and Wolverine stopped their small disagreement and looked at him in bewilderment.

“We found her,” Scott said answering Logan’s look before he answered, “but apparently someone broke into the mansion and corrupted Cerbro’s main system. Xavier seems to have placed into what Jean assumes is form of a coma. This type of coma is created when a telepath of the Professor’s level automatically place them into when they feel that their minds are under attack. Jean can’t seem to get through to him. I’ve already called Hank from Washington he’s on his way now.”

“Scott if something has happened to the Professor then how do you know where Rogue is?” Storm asked her comrade in arms as she moved towards him. The evening events weighed heavily upon her.

“Jean used Cerbro,” was all Scott said as he turned and left the room, heading towards the war room.

Magneto’s Secret Undisclosed Lair:

I panicked. When I woke up I was sitting in a dank, dark cell and every nightmare I had ever had seemed to come alive at that exact moment. This of course included the multiple of personalities I had as well. Logan, Slim, Victor, Remy, Wonda, and yes even Magneto all screamed in protest to being in the small enclosure, trapped once again and locked up where no one can hear our screams. So yes, I panicked.

I screamed for all I was worth and kicked and pulled at the metal bars that held me in. I paced the inside of it and ran my hands across the walls looking for anything that would help me in my escape. But in the end my efforts where futile and I should have known better than that, seeing as how my captor was Magneto I didn’t even stand a sliver of a chance.

“Would you stop screaming?” a very large and bulky Victor Creed asked me.

“No,” I spat at as I stood in the middle of the room trying to control my panic. Trying to do all I could to push the terror filled voices in my head back into their little rooms.

“Now Roguey don’t be that way,” came the seductive voice of the one and only, blue skinned mutant Mystique.

“Raven you know if I ever get out of here I will personally see to it that your skin is no longer that brilliant blue hue that you love so much. So why don’t you be a dear and let me the hell out,” I said to her flashing her a bright smile.

“Do not call me by my slave name girl,” Mystique replied before moving to stand next to Sabertooth, draping her arms over him. I swear I never knew what she saw in that man or him in her.

“Let me go Mystique,” I said saying her name with a drawn out edge to it, “and I won’t tell Victor your dirty little secrets.”

She stopped at that, released her hold on Victor and sauntered over to my cell door. I swear that woman has been manipulating that man for ten years at least if not maybe even longer. You would think he would be smarter than her with his animalistic senses and other mutant abilities. But then I again this is Mystique we are talking about and that woman could charm a snake if push came to pull.

“What?” She said to me through clenched teeth, she balled her hands into tiny fists as she did so.

Victor seemed more than interested to hear whatever information I had on his lovely lover. Probably just now figuring out that yes, I still know every secret from everyperson whom I had ever touched. I mean seriously I can’t believe I used to work and live with these people. I mean really they had no common sense what so ever.

“Now, now Mystique I know you haven’t forgotten about Graydon. Because I know he hasn’t forgotten about you?” I say to her in a questioning manner as I placed my hands on my hips. I just couldn’t help it; I was enjoying this way too much.

“Shut up, before I remove that pretty little smile from your face Rogue,” Mystique whispered to me through her still clenched teeth.

“Who’s Graydon Raven?” Creed asked as he moved forward towards her.

I don’t know what it is with ferals and cheating. But let me tell you ferals do not like it when their partner (or mate as they call it) bunker up with another person. It’s like a territory thing or something.

“Let me out Raven and I’ll knock him out and he’ll never know we even had this discussion,” I tell her using her own memories as my only weapon of escape.

I watched as Mystique thought it over. I couldn’t believe she would even consider letting me go just to cover up some stupid secret. I mean really it wasn’t all that bad. I bet Victor would even agree with her on what she did.

“Come on blue we ain’t got all day,” I say louder as I move my arms from my hips to cross atop my chest.

“Raven,” Victor growled out, “Who’s Graydon?”

“Don’t you see what she’s trying to do Victor? She’s trying to manipulate us into letting her go. She’s using fake information on us to get us to let her go. I don’t have any idea on what she’s talking about,” she lied through her teeth. I mean really the woman should know. That man can smell a lie just as good as Logan can. I mean hello! They have the same freaking mutation.

“You’re lying Mystique,” he says to her.

“Kind of stating the obvious there Chief,” I say watching them. I am pretty sure by now I am not getting out of here. But hell if I am going to go down then so are the rest of these circus side show wonders.

“Go on Raven tell him who Graydon is and oh don’t forget about Kurt either,” I say and watch as her eyes widen in horror at mentioning Kurt’s name.

I know it was a pretty low blow especially since this is Kurt we are talking about here. Kurt doesn’t deserve her, he doesn’t deserve not knowing and he sure as hell doesn’t deserve me saying this stuff about him either. But well I am pretty damn desperate right about now. I know he’ll forgive me, it’s what he does.

“Kurt and Graydon? Nice names, who are they Mystique?” Victor said walking towards her in that menacing kind of way that most large, animalistic type of men do.

“Stop Victor,” Raven said putting her hand up.

She didn’t sound a bit scared, she was gaining her control back over her emotions. I knew Kurt would hit accord. Since, you know, he’s her favorite out of the two. But trust me I wouldn’t blame her on that either.

“Graydon and Kurt are my son’s,” she confesses and really I didn’t think she had it in her at all.

“Wow,” I say and start to clap in applaud at her achievement. Those two had to be her deepest and darkest secret that she has been carrying with her for a long while. I hope Victor appreciates that little bit of information, because I am pretty sure that didn’t come cheap.

“What?” he says confused. Really the man doesn’t catch on real easy.

“I have two sons. Kurt is the oldest, he’s from a pervious man I had relations with for awhile,” She said and I just raise my eyebrow at that.

“Still kind of do don’t ya?” I say with a raised eyebrow that could really out do Logan’s at this point.

“Alright fine! Kurt is Magneto’s son and no, he does not know about him and I would like to keep it that way for obvious reasons,” she says through those same clenched teeth. I swear the woman went from blue to purple in 0.2 seconds.

“Bucket head!?” Sabertooth says in complete shock.

“You really don’t think I am that close to Magneto without having something to hold over him, do you? But if it makes you feel anymore comforted Sabertooth we are not lovers anymore,” she says truthfully. I can see Victor looking past her at me to confirm.

“Sorry to burst you’re doubting bubble there Vickie but she’s not lying on that point. Since the last mission we went on she hadn’t at least,” I confirm I mean I had to give the guy a break.

“And Graydon?” He says moving on. I mean really this is like watching my very own soap opera. I should get kidnapped more often by evil mutant villains on a power trip.

“Well Graydon’s the youngest, he’ll be sixteen next month,” she says and almost doesn’t continue, “he’s your son.”

“Wow Raven I didn’t think you had it in you. You really do have a heart,” I say as I see the emotion on her face. I know I’ve hurt her but really the woman helped kidnap me and locked me in a cell in the middle of nowhere. I think we’ll call it even for now.

Before she could say anything in return Magneto walked into the large holding room I was in. Closely followed by Toad who then instructed to get everything ready it was time to move out.

I was escorted by Toad (much to my dismay) to a boat that had a large metallic thing loaded up on to the back end of it. Mystique was at the wheel, a dead man lay at her feet. Victor stood off to the side watching both Mystique and the metallic thing at the same time.

We drove in silence the entire way to what I assume was our destination. I could feel the cold from the water start to creep in and surround me. The water seemed to get chopper as we closed in closer to land. It wasn’t long before I realized where we were headed.

“Magnificent, isn’t she?” Magneto asked as we all looked up to the towering beauty of the Statue of Liberty.

“I’ve seen it,” I reply. Because I remember along time ago when I was really happy, my parents had taken me up to New York one summer. That was our last vacation.

“I first saw her in 1949. America was going to be the land of tolerance. Peace,” he says to me with a sort of venom I hadn’t heard from Magneto or Eric for that matter in the entire time I had known him.

“Are you going to kill me?” I couldn’t help but ask. I mean I am a curious creature. Maybe I should have been a cat. At least they have nine lives and I only have one.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Like I said, curious.

“Because,” he begins before looking from me and then up to the statue, “there is no land of tolerance. There is no peace. Not here, or anywhere else.”

I shudder at the thought.

“So what? You’re going to use me for the sole gain of mutant superiority? How pathetic! A man who spent his entire childhood in a concentration camp and he himself tries to vie for world dominance. Now if that ain’t irony I don’t know what is,” I scoff at him. He doesn’t say anything to me, just smiles sweetly, almost a little sad.

“Sabertooth, take our guest and place her on the machine. I’ll raise it,” Eric says to Victor who only lets out a lowly growl before grabbing me by the upper arm.

As Victor began to haul me to the back of the boat and handcuff me to ‘the machine’ as we were apparently coining it. I began to notice a curious fog that began to creep rather quickly along the coast line and surround the Statue of Liberty. It rolled in quickly and as thick as any winter blanket.

“We are no longer alone, Sabertooth once I have transferred my powers over to the girl I will be momentarily weakened. I’ll need you to protect me,” Magneto all but whispered to Sabertooth as Victor finished locking me into place in the machine.

I glanced past him then and couldn’t help but smile as I noticed the all too familiar outline of a large air craft landing not half a click away from us. It was nearly invisible except for the fact that the thick fog that had to be created by Storm for it rippled over and around the Blackbird. Oh yes, I couldn’t help but give a small smile at that.

“We have company Eric,” Sabertooth said breaking the quiet that had been created as everyone worked together to get everything prepped.

“Mystique, Toad take care of our uninvited guest please. We can not afford for this plan to fail,” Magneto commanded as both Toad and Mystique gracefully raced across the thick lawn towards the entrance of the Statue of Liberty.

As soon as both had entered the large statue Creed removed the cover off of the machine. Magneto raised both of his hands into the air and lifted all three of us plus the machine in the air.

Oh yes, at this moment I would give anything to be a cat right about now.

The Blackbird:

“Do you people actually go out in these things?” Logan asked as he rotated his body in the skin tight leather uniform he was wearing.

“Well, what would you prefer? Yellow spandex?” Scott asked with a smile as he came closer to their destination.

No one said anything else as the Blackbird came closer to the Statue of Liberty. Each person was mentally preparing themselves for what was to come. Each concerned on what this moment in history would mean for the world, mutant and human alike.

“Storm cover please,” Scott requested as Storm had thick fog roll out of nowhere towards the large statue. It doesn’t even take two minutes before Scott begins to land the Blackbird on top of the choppy water. The water sloshed about down below the Blackbird landing with little or no grace upon the water’s edge.

“Sorry,” said Cyclops.

“You call that a landing?” Wolverine questions before everyone unloads from the jet.

They all walk cautiously towards the Statue of Liberty. She stands tall against the dark night sky. Lights from the city illuminate her as if a Goddess standing amongst the stars. The fog that Storm had created slowly starts to disappear and the leftover wisps languished about her feet and layered skirts. Making her look even more gigantic and ethereal amongst the flourish of city lights and technological advancements.

The group entered her from the base of her skirts. Even with as much caution as each person took Wolverine still let one of the security alarms off as he stepped through the metal detector. The sound alerting Mystique and Toad of their presence way before the team was even slightly prepared.

“There’s someone here,” Wolverine said aloud to the group as he began to sniff out his opponent.

“Where?” Scott asks as they cautiously move about the base of the Statue of Liberty.

“I don’t know. Keep your eye open,” Logan comments sarcastically as he disappears in search of the intruder.


The Machine atop the Statue of Liberty:

“So this is what you have been planning all along then?” I ask Bucket Head, (I decided that since he was going to kill me I might as well call him that. I mean everyone already does, even his own people), as I lay slumped up against the machine.

“I am surprised you hadn’t figured it out long before this my dear,” Bucket Head chided to me, “especially with all of that money I had invested in you. Really Rogue, all of that training to strengthen you mentally and physically, did you really think it was all for your benefit? No, it was all so that one day you would be strong enough to use my powers at the level in which I use them. But I guess that was something not even you could fully achieve.”

I just rolled my eyes at him. Seriously the man has ego issues bigger than that telepath I met last year, what was her name? Oh right Emma Frost. Goodness that woman has more money than Warren Warrington and you would think she would have clothes that one, cover up her body and two were in colors other than white. I mean did she wear after September?

“They’ve made it past Toad and Mystique,” Sabertooth reported back to Bucket Head as he stood next to us on the torch.

“We’ll head them off at the head. Make sure they don’t make it up to this arm Victor,” He replied to Creed with a warning in voice.

“Wow, couldn’t even keep the X-Men preoccupied for more than fifteen minutes. I am sincerely impressed. That beats your record Bucket Head. Now how long does it take for your stupid Machine to work exactly?” I asked with a smile.

I mean I couldn’t help it. They were coming to rescue me. Maybe I might actually make it out of here alive. At least then I know no one is going to die because of me tonight.

“If you excuse us Rogue we have to deal with your friends,” Bucket Head said to me as him and Victor descended into the head of the Statue of Liberty.

The Head of the Statue of Liberty:

“Everybody get out of here!” Logan all but yelled at the X-Men.

“What? Why?” Storm questioned as she and the others looked at Wolverine with inquisitiveness.

“I can’t move,” Wolverine respond as he was thrown up against the wall of the State of Liberty.

The Statue of Liberty (the head):

“Ah, my brothers, welcome,” Magneto’s voice echoed around the X-Men as they hung helplessly from the inner walls of the Statue of Liberty.

Magneto looked at each of Xavier’s students and couldn’t help but envelop himself within his victory. Not even the great X-Men could stop him at this point. Roaming his eyes over the ferocious Wolverine he smirks at the idiocy of bring a mutant with metal coated bones to a fight with a mutant who can control said metal.

“And you, let’s point those claws of yours in a safer direction,” Magneto said to Wolverine and with a flick of his hand had Logan trapped by his own six inch claws.

“Storm, fry him!” Cyclops commands blindly as the fear of being locked in the dark consumes him, bringing back memories long forgotten.

“Oh yes! A bolt of lightning into a huge copper conductor. I thought you lived at a school?” Magneto chided as he began to leave Sabertooth to do what he does best.

“I saw Senator Kelly,” Jean says hurriedly noticing Magneto turning to leave them there with Victor Creed.

“So, the senator survived the fall, and the swim to shore. He’s become more powerful than I imagined,” he gloated as he all but clapped his hands together at his sheer success of it all.

“He’s dead. Just like all those people out there will be,” Jean replies to his egotistical response.

“It’s true. I watched him die,” Storm confirms as she starts to slowly panic from being locked in such a confined space, unable to move, unable to escape.

“Are you sure you saw what you saw?” Magneto questions the two women. As he contemplates what they may or may not have seen, the muffled screams of the girl, Rogue, can be heard in the distance.

Somebody help me! She screams against the high wind.

“You’re so full of shit! If you’re really so righteous, it’d be you in that thing,” Wolverine grounds out as he listens to Rogue’s barely audible plea for help.

He could feel his heart racing, he could sense that time was running out for the woman-child he had met only days before and somewhere deep down within him he could not help but panic at the situation. Usually a man of calm indifference Logan was experiencing a new sensation that many men of normal standards felt every day. He cared. He cared about what happened to this person. He wanted her to live and to live the life she was suppose to live. He wanted to live up to the promise he had made to her on that train station not a day ago. He wanted to be there for her like no one else ever had. And between Logan and Wolverine both were scared shitless at the possibility of what it meant.

“Why do none of you understand what I am trying to do?” Magneto asks them bringing Logan back to the situation at hand and not the one raging within him, “Those people down there-they control our fate and the fate of every other mutant! Well, soon our fate will be theirs,” Magneto barks out to the group of X-Men as he tilts his head to beckon Sabertooth to watch them as he rises high into the atmosphere towards Rogue as she waits for her own gamble with fate.

The Statue of Liberty (the torch):

“Somebody help me! Please!” I scream out to anyone who could hear, praying that maybe the X-Men can hear me and know where to find me before destiny closes its doors on me.

My eyes are shut tight against the whipping of the bitter wind as it blows my long tresses into my face, turning it into a weapon against my untouchable skin. I continue to call out as the minutes tick by and I wait for either one of the leather clad X-Men to come running up the side of the statue, but instead Magneto’s flying form is my only reprieve as to what is to come. By now I know as I feel the all too familiar magnetic pull against my wrists that my hope had been just that. A simple hope.

Magneto says nothing to me as he begins to prepare himself for what I know is inevitable. I tighten my gloved hands into fist and start to pull myself unconsciously away from the machine, but the cuffs that link me to it hold me firmly into place.

“This is for the good of all mankind my dear,” Magneto begins to talk to me as if he’s trying to justify why killing me is the only option we have left in this bleak world.

“I don’t particularly care about mankind at the moment,” I say just above the whipping of the arctic wind.

“Yes, well, the rest of us will care about you. You will be a matriarch for all mutants in this world Rogue,” says he.

“So, what? This is supposed to be a great honor? Fuck that,” I respond to him as I start to stand and pull even harder against my bonds. I can feel the metal cutting into my wrist, burring deep into my porcelain skin, rubbing it raw and breaking it open to allow the faint beginnings of warm blood to begin trickling down my arms under my long sleeve sweater.

He looks at me with a sorrow that I almost want to comfort. But then remember why I am in this situation in the first place. The man is a complete loon. He begins to approach me and I start to struggle with a new vigor I didn’t even know I had ever possessed.

“I am so sorry my dear,” he says to me and I know in that instant I will die up here on the Lady of Liberty. I will not be remembered and I will not live to see another day.

I watch helplessly as he places his cold weathered hands on my pale cheeks and scream as his mutation, his memories, his thoughts rip through me with no consideration for my own consciousness. Tears stream down my face as the pain blurs my vision and for awhile all I see is a bright, white light. The pain is searing and all of my skin is on fire, my bones feel like they are being yanked from me in one big pull. It’s all too much to take.

I can’t see or feel Eric near me anymore as I lose myself to the sensation of my mutation, but I can feel him inside of me. I can hear him convincing me to power the machine, to free the mutants in this world, to be their savior.

I just want to throw up and never wake up again.


The Statue of Liberty (the head):
“Hey, bub, I’m not finished with you yet,” Logan declares with all of the effort he has left within him as he drops carelessly behind Sabertooth. His wounds have healed but the dark, ruby leftovers from him or from Victor can still be seen as they drip from the tips of his claws onto the copper floor of the Statue of Liberty.

Victor Creed turns to face the mutant in front of him. He growls out in a feral warning only one of his breed can understand. The smell of blood is thick in the air and causes both mutants to feel the bloodlust that runs thick in their veins. Sabertooth crouches low to the ground ready to pounce. His eyes turn a bright yellow-green color as he eyes his prey. Wolverine immediately notices the threatening position but takes head.

“Jean,” Wolverine spoke aloud as he held Cyclops visor tightly in his hand. He works with everything he has to keep himself in check. The stark shriek of Rogue’s painful cry holds him together longer than he had ever thought imaginable.

“Scott,” she whispered to her husband and she caught the idea Logan was projecting, “when I tell you, open your eyes.”

“No!” Scott all but yelled out to her. His own self consciousness has already begun to seep through his usually strong mental walls.

“Trust me,” she whispers back to him in a soothing way. Jean looks back to Logan and did her best to nod her head at him in the tightly bound position she is in. Wolverine all but smiles at the beastlike man before him, as he raises Scott’s visor into the air with a chuckle that leaves Goosebumps on Jean’s arms.

“You drop something?” Logan asks Victor mockingly as Jean uses her telekinetic powers to lift the visor in out of Logan’s hand and place them in front of Scott.

“Scott now!” Jean screamed out as the blinding light of Cyclops optic power is released upon Sabertooth in one hurdling blow that threw him clear out of the Statue of Liberty.

Breathing heavily Logan stalks his way over to the X-Men and begins the process of freeing the team.

“Thanks,” Cyclops said to Wolverine as they began to make their way towards the arm of the statue.

They hadn’t made it two feet before they all watched as Magneto forced Rogue to take everything he had. They could hear her scream in pain across the cool night air. Wolverine smelt the familiar scent of burnt flesh and pure, natural pain as it emanated from Rogue’s body in a heavy wave across the Statue.

“We gotta get her out of there. Cyclops, can you hit it?” Logan asked as a white light began to flow unevenly from the spinning rings that surrounded Rogue.

“The rings are moving too fast,” Scott admitted as he tried to find a safe way to take out the machine and not Rogue.

“Just shoot it!” Logan yelled in panic. His heart had begun to beat at an unusually fast rhythm as Rogue’s body all but lifted from the ground as she poured Eric’s power into the Machine.

“I’ll kill her!” Scott protested as he searched for any plausible way to liberate her.

“Storm can you get me up there?” Scott asked his team mate.

“You could fly right over the torch,” She replied helplessly.

“Then let me go. If I don’t make it, than at least you can still blast the damn thing!” Logan thought out to Scott as they came to a silent agreement in that moment. They both had the same objective, save the girl, no matter what the costs.

“All right, do it. Jean use your power, try to steady him,” Cyclops commanded getting a weary look from both of his female team members, neither however questioned his leadership.

“Hang onto something,” Storm warned her compatriots as her chocolate eyes turned milky white and the wind turned deadly.


The Statue of Liberty (the torch): Logan’s POV

The metal in my bones felt on fire as Magneto stretched them to their limits. I had never seen adamantium bend in such away as mine had. I didn’t feel the pain though as I looked at Rogue. She just looked tired even through all the pain, I could see. I could see that she just wanted it all to stop. She was so close to just letting it all go, giving in to the pain around her that I almost stopped fighting and let her have her moment of piece.

I can’t even remember the point when her screams completely stopped and went to silent whimpering only one with my abilities could hear. I think it was about the same time the white in her hair began to slowly creep its way through her dark, chocolate locks.

I couldn’t move I couldn’t help her as I waited for something to happen, something that I was waiting for. Her screams echoed within me long before they faded into the back of my mind. There they had stirred something, something dark and long forgotten within the tangled web I called my past.

It wasn’t until I saw the streak of red that darted through the sky did I know I was free to make my move. With as much force as I could muster I tore at the machines spinning rings, chopping them into tiny unusable pieces. Nevertheless the entire I time I did so I kept thinking to myself, what am I doing? I don’t save people, hell I can’t even save myself.

But when that light finally faded away and everything got real quite again I knew I couldn’t, not save her. I all but lunged to her side as she hung limply from the metal contraption holding her in place.

I released her from the bonds that bound her to the monstrosity and held her to my chest as we both slumped down to the base of the broken machine. I looked down at her, laying quietly in my arms and in that moment, when I looked at her I knew. I knew she was gone. She had finally let it all go.

I hesitated for a moment unsure of what to do. I know how her mutation works; I know I would be the only one who would have the slightest chance to save her. But I hesitated. I almost didn’t place my hand on her face. It was as if something deep within me told me to wait, to just let her go and move on, forget that this had ever happened.

But I have never been very good at listening, especially listening to myself.

When I placed my hand on her freezing, cold skin and nothing happened I felt as if my heart had just dropped into my stomach and nothing was holding it into place anymore. I am aware of the fact that I don’t know this woman very well and it sounds rather cliqued to be speaking like this, but it happened.

I hugged her tighter to me, resting my face against her untouchable skin, savoring a moment that no one will ever have with her, not ever again, smelling magnolias and the faintest trace of clean linen that was all her.

And that’s when it happened.

I was thrown head first into a pool of flashing images and loud noise and dark green surroundings. And then I was standing dressed as I am now in a room I had only seen briefly in my deepest, darkest dreams.

I was in my past, fifteen or so years ago. I was pacing back and forth with in a tiny cell. I could see blood flecked across my chest and my hair was only slowly growing back on my arms and chest.

I could hear a boy murmuring in the dark a few cells down.

Not the dark, not in the dark, I am not in the dark.

Despite what looked like poor condition my cell was rather clean and I looked practically well fed. It wasn’t anything as monstrous as I had made myself believe. I was even dressed in something that slightly resembled clothing as I paced my prison. I looked kind of strung out. As if I was impatient. I didn’t understand that. At the time I had all of the time in the world, right?

But that’s when I smelt it. Just the faintest trace of it as it lingered down my cell block towards me. The weakest trace of Magnolias and clean linen.

Magnolias and clean linen.

For a moment I couldn’t believe my eyes or my nose, for that matter, as she came walking down the cell block first stopping at the murmuring boys cell.

“It’s alright Slim, don’t worry. I am right here I promise,” she said soothingly to the boy. I couldn’t believe it. I knew who Slim was. I knew exactly where I was now. But I refused to let myself think otherwise. It all had to be some bad dream. Like I was mixing my own experience in with what Xavier had told me about Rogue and Summers.

“I am going to go down a few cells and take care of the other one okay?” she said to who I know now as Scott Summers.

“You’ll come back?” he asked her. His voice sounded as if it hadn’t been used in awhile.

“Don’t I always,” she said with a southern twang she doesn’t really have now. He didn’t say anything back to her as she moved down closer to me. She was carrying a large tray filled with a wonderful aroma.

“Hey Logan, it’s just me, time for dinner and a little clean up,” she says to me as if this is a habitual thing.

“Hey kid, what’s for dinner?” The younger version of me asks her as she set the tray of food down. Then I realize that’s because it is.

“I convinced the cook to make us some roast with potatoes for tonight,” she tells me and I can’t help but smile as I realize that’s how she knew I didn’t like peas. Funny how something so inconsequential the comment made only a few days prior meant so little to me.

I watched us eat in silence. I remember now that I liked it, her and me eating dinner together like that. It made me feel- human, if only for a little while. She didn’t look up from her dinner plate as we ate and that worried me-us.

“Hey, kid you alright?” I asked her.

“I can’t take this anymore Logan!” She nearly screamed at me throwing down her fork, “he’s my brother and there’s nothing I can do to stop this...this hell!”

She said to me as she motions to the bars around us and tears start to fall from her eyes from the anger, from the fear of the unknown.

“Come here kid,” I say to her and motion for her to come and rest next to me.

I hate it when she cries I can feel it with my whole body, the way she aches in pain and longing all at once it stirs something deep down inside of me that I spend every minute of every waking hour controlling. But I let her cry for awhile into my chest not particularly caring that small flakes of my blood are sticking to her clothes. The smell however once you get past the tears is quite inviting. She and I mixed together in that way makes my body shudder at the notion of what it could really mean.

“Everything will be okay eventually, it’ll all work out one way or another,” I whisper to her as I start to pet her shorter than now hair.

“No it’s never going to be okay Logan, I am a mutant too you know,” She tells me and I notice from this memory how I stiffen and pull her tight against me. I know what this means, she’ll be next. She will be the one sitting in that cell, the one right next to mine. I know that they’ll cut her open, holding the flesh back with tongs as they remove every pit of humanity left within her. And I know I can’t do a damn thing to save her, not like she’s saved me.

“If it wasn’t for this stupid bracelet that they made me I wouldn’t even be able to touch you without killing you,” she tells me as she starts another wave of crying. And I remember thinking to myself about how dangerous we are, how dangerous we would be together. Then shake the thought from my mind because she is just a kid.

“I mean every day I come down here and I see what they are doing to you and Slim and I just hate wondering when it’s going to be my turn, when do I get to have my own little cage to sit in and slowly die each and every day as they poke and prod me,” she says and I am thinking those are my thought’s exactly kid.

“I won’t let them hurt ya kid, no matter what. You’re all I’ve got and I’ll be damned if I will let them bastards hurt you too,” I meant what I said too. Just never thought I wouldn’t be able to keep my promise. A promise I had told her twice without realizing it.

In the memory we’re looking at each, in this type of soul baring kind of way. We know each other better than I have known anyone else in the whole of this world. And I hate myself for it because she’s just a kid.

I trace the outline of her face, my thumb brushing away the last remnants of her tears looking at her with this intensity I have never done before. I can feel my heart pulling at its strings trying to get out, to just touch her if only for a moment. Because deep down I know this is it. We’re all we’ve got. I look down at her lips and stop breathing just by looking at their fullness. I move my hand to the small of her back and every movement the little voice in the back of my head is screaming NO!

I stop to make sure this isn’t just Wolverine doing this that this is in fact Logan, the man and that Rogue, the woman-child is doing this too. She smiles reassuringly up to me and I couldn’t help but kiss her with everything that I had. I stop and hold her to me after that, her lips close to my ear as she whispers to me.

“I love you Logan, always have, and always will.”

“I…I don’t want to tell you I love you, because I want to be able to tell you I love you when you’re not the only one who makes me feel like I am still a person and not some animal. You’re all I’ve got so the ‘I love you’ is going to have to wait until we are both in better conditions than these,” I confess to her, because I am right. She knows it too.

“I understand Logan, I just thought you should know, just in case,” she bows her head then before she continues talking and I am thinking deep down that she’s hiding something from me then.

“I do promise however Logan, that I will get you out of here, because I want you to be able to tell me you love me in that different condition you are talking about,” she tells me and I know in that moment she’s not telling me the whole story. She leans down as she stands up and gives me a quick peck on the cheek as she starts to leave my cell.

“I’ll be back in the morning with breakfast, finish your dinner okay?” she tells me and I nod in understanding.

I watch her walk out of the cell. I look at myself then watching as I don’t eat my dinner like she asked me to and I can’t help but look at myself and ask What in the hell do you think you are thinking here bub? But I know what he was thinking, because I was thinking the exact same thing on the Statue just moments ago…well actually fifteen years into the future really. She’s all we’ve got in this world. She’s the one person who we’ve actually tried to do right by in this sick, twisted world.

But there is one thing that I didn’t know then that I know now. Even if it was for all the right reasons and even if I am some sick, fucked up bastard.

That girl lied to me.

Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters:

“What do you see Jean?” I ask her the day after my return from the Statue.

“He’s dreaming I guess, or remembering something that happened to the two of you a long time ago,” She tells me as she sits at the top of the bed that they have Logan on. She’s been trying to read his mind for nearly an hour now.

“What?” I ask confused, praying that I hadn’t done any long term damage.

“He’s remembering the first time the two of you kissed back in the lab,” she reports to me, “he is actually watching it like a movie instead of actually watching it from his own perspective.”

“That’s because Logan has a split personality,” I inform her and she stops for a second and looks up at me. I don’t even miss a beat as I tell her a bit of information about our white knight we have laying here in front of us.

“Logan’s mutation is very animalistic. Unlike Victor Creed Logan has not successful incorporated his mutation mentally you could say. The Wolverine, as we like to call him, is just that, a Wolverine, pure animal with animal tendencies. Logan is just the man. When we lived at Sinister’s foundation he didn’t care for Logan only the Wolverine. Because of this Logan lost his ability, like Scott, to full incorporate his mutation into himself,” I conclude without really thinking about what I am saying

Jean nodded in understanding and then continued to observe Logan and his dream.

“He is rather upset with you,” Jean finally said as she finished watching Logan’s dream.

“What do you mean?” I questioned her curiously.

“He thinks you lied to him, are lying to him currently,” she responds.

“Stupid man,” I grumble.

“Man yes, stupid no. I think Rogue that even if Logan doesn’t approve of you, this Wolverine personality has become so deeply ingrained into him that not loving you isn’t an option,” Jean told me as I stood to leave her to finish taking care of her patients. The Professor still hasn’t woken up yet.

“Why don’t you go run a DR session Rogue? You still have quite a bit of both Logan and Magneto in you. Maybe releasing some of that steam will help you assimilate them better,” Jean suggested as she moved towards Xavier’s bed.

I nodded in agreement and left the med lab for a more constructive time consuming activity.

Blood dripped from my finger tips, leaving a trail of reddish purple ooze in my wake. Night has descended upon me faster than I had originally expected and that left me with only the faintest of light to guide me as I skulk through the alley way that I am currently lurking in.

I had been shot by a sniper right through my left shoulder blade and I have to stop and lean up against the side of some dirty brick wall in no-where-ville and try to take a sip out of my canteen. I take a few deep breaths before checking my Sig Sauger 229. It’s my favorite weapon of choice in any sticky situation particularly when I need to have a not so personal encounter with my pursuer or vise versa.

Damn.

I am out of bullets and I don’t have any extra clips.

I double check my other two holsters. My two Glock 37.45 calibers only have the one clip in them. I have to close my eyes at that. I just had to go gun crazy when those wonna-be soldiers showed up. But what can I say? Men with guns chasing me- of course I am going to use deadly force. What do they think I am? Stupid?

Don’t answer that.

I start to pat my pant legs just to make sure I still have my buck knife hidden there. It’s still hidden within the outer side of my leg as my fingers, still wet with my own blood, skim the hand carved handle. I press down on the toes of my thick leather boots watching with a grim satisfaction as blades swipe out from the tips of both, slicing the air with silent ease. I am silently glad that they hadn’t gotten stuck when I had been kicking those soldier’s teeth in.

Taking one more sip from my canteen I begin to move out. I press myself up against the side of the building I was just leaning against and peer around the corner. A few cars are parked out front of one the buildings, but besides that there isn’t anyone in sight. There’s no one in screaming distance if I fail at my objective. There’s no one out here who will witness the battle that is about to take place upon their very streets.

How very clichéd?

I slither around the corner, sticking to hiding in the shadows as I try to move towards a more occupied part of the city. But I have a feeling that I won’t make it that far. The boys I had hit just an hour before were nothing but a gage. They were there to see how much damage I could accomplish and to see if I could escape them at all.

I love being underestimated. It makes the game a lot more-interesting, especially when I have the upper hand in the situation. But then I have to give them credit for even thinking about making sure that they could even catch me with out artificial help.

I am half way down the street now. I can hear the rumble of cars passing by and the familiar smell of exhaust fumes just a click away. I just hope I can make it before being spotted.

I have to move out into the open to get to the main part of the city. A good straight non-stop run should get me there before anyone is the wiser. I don’t even second guess my decision on that one as I run, full out towards the sparkling city lights in the horizon.


“Mutant stop! You are under arrest by order of the MRD,” said a booming voice over the loud speaker. I didn’t even stop I just keep running, I didn’t even turn back to look at where they were. I didn’t turn back for anything.

I ran hard, fast and with breakneck speed across the dirt and few patches of plain field grass. Looking ahead I could see the faint outline of cars and a few small buildings leading towards the city. The city where the military wouldn’t even try to cause a big scene, the city where one could physically get lost with in a few minutes. I all but laughed in pleasure.

I was just reaching the true outskirts of the city limits when I felt another shot resonate through my body as I was shot again threw the upper part of my right leg. I stumbled forward and nearly fall to the ground. But I steadied myself and kept running. My body screamed in pain but the adrenaline coursing through my veins and my mind going into self preservation mode pushed it into the back of my brain like annoying child.

I reached the first of the small buildings in record time. I was overjoyed at my success. That is until a dusty red creature appeared from around one of the buildings, stopping me in my tracks.

“Mutant has been identified. Capture and destroy,” it said to me in a mechanical sort of way.

I started to feel the fright creep up the back of my neck. I know I can’t beat a sentinel. I hadn’t come prepared for one and I am pretty certain that my mutation wouldn’t even cause a dent in that behemoth.

But I felt the tingle. It’s the same sensation that Eric got when he was only twelve years old. It is the same tingle that started as he watched his parents as they were dragged behind a chain linked fence and never seen or heard from again.

“Mutant has been identified. Code name Rogue, absorption abilities through skin to skin contact,” the sentinel said aloud as his computer main frame pulled my file. I had forgotten how advanced the sentinels will become in the future. In about twenty years they will be able to create their own defenses against mutant abilities to the point where they actually almost become mutants themselves.

His large metal hand began to bend lower to me, ready to snatch me up and take me to where ever captured mutants go. I felt the psyches in my mind scream and try to fight for their own position within the forefront of my mind. Logan and Eric being the strongest quickly stomped out all of the other competition. Regrettably, Eric won this battle.

I felt as if I was experiencing some out of body experience and was watching a movie about my life. Eric was so strong and powerful when in the depths of battle. It was very impressive; I had to give the man credit even if he did try to kill me.

I could feel Magneto’s powers as they began to run wickedly throughout my body, creating a Magnetic field. He said nothing at first as he lifted the behemoth of a creature up off of the Earth’s surface and threw it at least forty yards into the distance.

He then turned to face the onslaught of human soldiers that dared to face off with us. Men and women dressed in the usual cameo uniforms formed a defensive line across the grassy plain, each holding their assigned weapon pointed straight at us. Inside my mind I looked up at Eric as the leader of this venture waiting to see what would happen next.

“Mutant, you are under arrest. Please place your hands above your head and allow one of the MRD officers to place the government issued mutant restraining collar upon you. If you do not cooperate we will be forced to take extreme action,” the same booming voice from before said to me from behind the defensive line.

I looked back up at Eric again trying to figure out what we were going to do next. He just smiled at them, a wicked smile that I had only seen a handful of times. He lifted his hands up into the air and with them also raised two of the military vehicles. He levitated them high above the people below before he released them. They dropped hard and fast, both being completely destroyed. People scattered and ducked out of the way fast. Magneto causing just a moment of mayhem within the front lines.

I guess we gave them our answer.

“Open fire!” the booming voice screamed out.

“Homo sapiens and their guns,” Eric mumbled out as he waved the assault of bullets away like flies.

The next few minutes were a muddle of guns blaring and Magneto standing between a sentinel and the MRD. Neither could touch the man of magnetism.

“Simulation terminated,” the main computer for Xavier’s Danger Room spoke out. I looked up to the tower to see who had ended my simulation. I should have known who it was.

Shaking Eric’s consciousness to the back of my mind where he belonged I started towards the lift that would take me up to the tower.

I didn’t even make it half way before he came storming towards me. He walked right up to me with a pointed finger and began to berate me like an eight year old child.

“You have to be the most brainless person I have ever met in my entire life. And let me tell you kid I’ve had a pretty damn long life,” Logan said to me causing my face to flush brilliant red, hiding the slight embarrassment I felt at my moment of foolishness.

“I have no idea what you are talking,” I tell him taking a step back.

“I am beginning to believe you have a death wish kid,” he all but growled out to me and I couldn’t help but smirk at the irony of this discussion.

“I am still confused because last time I checked I wasn’t the one who decided that putting themselves into a coma for a few days was the most awesome way of spending their weekend,” I replied back. I hadn’t even registered that I was still injured and bleeding quite nicely onto the DR floor.

“So, what? You saying you wanted to die?” He asked me with that quirked eyebrow thing. I swear we could have made a documentary on that, probably could have made a fortune.

“I died along time ago Logan,” I tell him somberly as I start to move away from him. I was starting to loose focus and arguing with him right now was not helping me in the slightest.

“You knew me once,” he says to me as I am about to reach the lift. The man must be oblivious because I can feel the blood from my shoulder wound dripping down my fingers onto the floor.

“Are you sure about that?” I question him. I figure that if I can make him believe that everything he dreamed was just that, a dream, I would be home free.

“Are you questioning my sanity?” He asks. I couldn’t help it; I rolled my eyes on that one.

“Can’t question something I don’t have myself,” I reply with an impatient, uncaring sigh.

“You’re a smartass you know that?” he tells me more like a statement than a question.

“Never denied that, but I wouldn’t be callin’ the kettle back if I were you. If you catch my drift that is,” I respond. I had moved to lean up against the metal wall as I waited for the lift to come back down to get me.

“So you going to tell me the truth or am I just going to have to hold you here?” he asks me. I keep trying to keep my eyes open as I start to lose consciousness.


“Is that a promise?” I ask a little on the loopy side even though I know that Logan keeping me here with him would most likely be on my top ten things to do before I die list.

“Why won’t you just tell me?” He asks me with this whole James Dean ‘Rebel without a Cause’ look. I am just waiting for him to say ‘you’re tearing me apart!’ in that way only bad boys can duplicate.

“Logan if you haven’t noticed I am about to bleed to death from two gun shot wounds. Answering your mundane questions are not on the top of my to-do list today. So why don’t you be a gentleman and carry me up to the damn med lab. Especially since you seem so enthralled with saving my life,” I say to him in a deeming kind of way. I know it’s mean and uncalled for. But I am wounded her people.


Logan grunted and walked over and swung me up into his arms. If I hadn’t been about to bleed to death I might have actually enjoyed my little trip in those muscular arms of his. Especially with the view I had of his back side.

“Did you try to kill me along time ago or something?” He asked me as we exited the lift to main foyer of the school.

“First off who even said I knew you, second off why would I kill you? I mean if I really wanted to kill you don’t you think I would have done so by now?” I asked him as we rounded another corner.

“Point but you still won’t answer my questions,” he reminded as we past Jubilee and Kitty on our way to the med lab. They both just looked at us with astonishment.

“Look if you’re so determined to find out about your past I might be able to help you. But that’s all I am doing. Searching for your past Logan will only dreg up bad memories and even more questions for everyone involved, okay?” I say hoping that will please him.

“Fine,” is all he said to me as we entered the med lab. Jean was already there over looking some charts when we came barging in.

She looked from me and then to Logan and sighed.

“Do I really want to know what happened?” she asked.

“Probably not,” I grumble out before answering her, “I was running a sim, that’s all,” I say as Logan placed me on one of the medical tables.

“Which one?” She asked as I shrugged off my uniform.

“One of Scooters,” Logan answered for me.

“I can answer my own damn questions Wolverine,” I say to him. I mean really I am beginning to think that I preferred Logan in prison more than I do now-a-days. I swear the man is so- I don’t know, annoying.

“Rogue, you are not authorized to use Danger Room levels beyond what your security pass allow you too. How did you over ride the system?” Jean asked me and I could help but smile up at her.

“Storm really needs to find a password that isn’t nearly as obvious as it is,” I say to her with a toothy smile. I mean come on Africa? That has to be the easy guess in the whole world.

Jean sighs at me again as she begins to bandage up my injured shoulder. Logan hovered over me like a mother hawk as he watched me with a calculating gaze.

“Staring at me like that isn’t going to make Jean go any faster,” I respond to him as I watch him watch me.

“Shut up Rogue,” he says to me and I let my mouth hang open.

“You can not talk to me like that,” I tell him almost getting up to stand but Jean pushes me back down.

“Like hell I can, I saved your life remember?”

“No you did not. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t even have left the mansion in the first place,” I remind him in turn.

“Yeah, about that. What in the hell were you doing in my bed room that late at night anyways?” He asks me.

“Sorry if I couldn’t sleep because someone, I am not saying any names here, couldn’t keep quite in there sleep. I went to your room to try and wake you up because you were having a nightmare,” I counter with folded arms.

“Well you shouldn’t have snuck up on me like that,” he says simple.

Now that deserved a dramatic roll of the eyes.

“You are so unbelievable!” I yell at him throwing my hands up into the air with even more dramatic flare.

“Me? You’re the one saying that I didn’t help save your smart ass!” He grounds out.

“If you will excuse me, The Professor is waking” Jean said but wasn’t heard as she left us to bicker back and forth between one another. If I had been paying more attention I would have known that the Professor had finally woken up.

“I didn’t ask you to save me in the first place,” I yell back hoping off the medical table.

“And I didn’t ask you to come into my room to help!”

“So!” I say as if I am totally in the right and he is in the wrong. I love being a woman sometimes. Being right is just in our nature. We are never wrong. Or so we think anyways.

“What is going on in here?” Slim asked us as he came into the med lab. Like I said if I had been paying any attention I would have known Charles was awake. But well Logan is such a good distraction.

“None of your damn business one-eye,” Logan grounded out as we both looked at each other like Vipers ready to attack.

“It’s nothin’ Slim just having a chat is all,” I tell him as I pull my eyes from Logan to look at my brother.

“Well The Professor is awake,” Slim told us without furthering his questioning on why two of the most destructive mutants at Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters are bickering like two year olds.

I look back at Logan as we beginning to go greet the Professor and I know from his look that this conversation is far from over.


Xavier’s Office Two Day’s Later:

“There is an abandon military base near Alkali Lake in Canada. I believe you should find what you are looking for there. If not at least some part of it,” Xavier explained to Logan as they both sat in Xavier’s office discussing the information that was inside the manila envelope that Logan now carried with him.

“Thanks Chuck,” Logan said as he began to stand up from his maroon chair.

“Do not thank me Logan, I was not the one who found the information for you,” Xavier told him as Logan exited the room.

Slinging his bag over his shoulder he walked down the main foyer towards the large double doors that would lead to the start of finding his past. He began to think about what he had said and knew it was Rogue that had found the information for him. She had kept her promise. She had found out some information about him.

“You running again?” The sultry southern voice said from behind him stopping him in his tracks.

He turned to face her. He hadn’t even taken notice of her hair in the past two days and was slightly shocked on how well it molded with her skin and dark chocolate locks.

“Naw, just going to check some stuff out,” he replied to her showing her the folder.

She smiled at that, knowing she had been the one to give Charles the information he would need. But deep down her stomach was in knots. All she wanted to do was spill her guts out to him. Tell him everything she knew about him and their past together. But she knew better. If Logan truly loved her he needed to find that out for himself. Telling him about their past relationship would most likely push Logan away not only from her, but from him self as well.

“You coming back?” she asked him as she pushed back a lock of her snow white hair. He didn’t respond at first. Just looked at her and reached out to touch her white stripes of hair.

“I kind of like them,” she said to him still waiting for his answer. He reached up to his neck and removed his military issued ID tags and placed them within her green gloved hand.

“I’ll be back for those,” he told her with a small grin.

“Don’t forget Logan. Digging up your past will leave you with more unanswered questions and will hurt a lot of the people that are involved in it,” she reminded him. He didn’t reply to that, just nodded in understanding.

“See you around kid,” he said to her as he left Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and began his new journey of finding his past.