It was going to take us a while to get back to Xavier's place back in Westchester. That was fine with me, after all my home was on the back of my bike with her arms wrapped around my waist and her legs on either side of mine.

Anyway, we headed north after leaving Sunnydale behind. And good riddance to the place. Marie wanted to finish what she'd started when she left her home after her mutant power manifested, and what my Marie wants my Marie gets.

My Marie. Am I pathetic or what? The badass, cage-fighting Wolverine is so tightly wrapped around one little girl's finger that I couldn't untie myself if I wanted too. And I thought Scooter was whipped.

That's how we wound up in Cascade, Washington, not that far south of the US/Canada border. More importantly that's how we ended up sitting in the clink. Well, I was sitting in the clink. And I wanted to know where the cops had taken Marie. The only thing that kept me in that jail cell was Marie's calm voice telling me not to hurt anybody. Hell, she told me to behave like I was about five years old.

So I behaved. Even though I really wanted to slam a fist full of claws in to the face of the cop who called her "Lolita." I gotta admit, at least two of those cops are all right. The big fella who smacked the wise-ass on the back of the head, and the young guy with the curly hair who was talking to Marie as he led her away.

If they hadn't been taking Marie away I might even have liked those two.

A couple of uniforms sat me down in a room with a mirror on one wall and handcuffed me to a chair. Yeah, like that would keep me there if I wanted to leave. But I guess it did mean they figured I was dangerous.

The two of the plainclothes guys came in. Luckily neither of them were the shithead who pissed me off. Luckily for them.

"I'm Detective Ellison -- this is my partner, Sandburg," the tall guy told me as he partner sat down across from me. "And you are?"

"Logan," I grunted again and jerked at the handcuff holding me to the chair.

Ellison tilted his head to the side. "Logan what?"

"Just Logan," I growled.

"Fine. Just Logan," he growled back.

"She says you didn't kidnap her," said Sandburg quietly.

"I didn't," I grunted. "She's a runaway I found up in Canada. Doubt her folks reported her missing."

"How old did she tell you she was?" Sandburg asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I know she's sixteen, and I ain't laid a hand on her."

"What's with the gloves?" Ellison snapped.

I sniffed the air. It smelled like I could maybe trust these two, but I wasn't sure about the folks behind the mirror. "Tell your buddies behind the mirror to come in or get lost. I ain't a zoo animal, and this ain't a cage match. And turn that damned tape recorder off. Otherwise this stops and I'm out of here."

The two cops I could see traded looks. Sandburg shrugged and waved at the folks behind the mirror. I heard the sound of the recorder being snapped off.

A big black fella came in first. Now him I knew I liked. It was probably the stogie he had clamped between his teeth and the hard look on his face. Yep. Like Ellison, this was my kinda guy.

Behind him was a woman with a whole mess of brown curls flying wild around her face and curves in all the right places. She smelled like gun oil and some faint flowery perfume. Under that she just smelled clean and there was a sharp canny look in her eyes as they raked over me. I grinned at her for the hell of it. Pity she didn't even blush.

The fella behind her made the animal in me snarl. Loudly. I jabbed my free hand in his direction while my other wrist yanked hard at the cuffs, making the armrest on the chair bend just a little. "Get that asshole out of here. Now."

He started to open his mouth but Sandburg raised a hand to stop him. "Don't start, H. Everyone heard what you called the girl. I'd want to kick your ass, too."

Asshole started to say something again. This time the big black guy snapped at him to get out. The door slammed shut behind him.

"This is Captain Banks and Inspector Connor," Ellison said waving a hand at each of them. They nodded as their name was said.

"Now about those gloves? The girl refuses to take them off," Banks rumbled.

I cocked my head to one side to make sure no one else was listening in on our little chat. I took another sniff. This trust thing ain't easy for me, neither is giving a damn about anyone but myself, but this was probably the only way short of major property damage to get Marie back. "Her name's Marie. She never told me about a last name. And if she takes those gloves off somebody could get hurt on accident."

"She's a mutant," Sandburg concluded. He didn't sound to worried about it, and he sure didn't smell nervous.

"Yer quick, kid," I chuckled.

He looked up at the others and shrugged. "She can't exactly help it, and it's not against the law."

"Hope it stays that way," Ellison muttered.

My head snapped around to look at him so fast I'm pretty sure the only reason it didn't go flying off was because of my adamantium skeleton. I knew I looked vicious when my eyes narrowed like they did then. "You ain't normal either, are ya?"

Ellison shrugged and glared back at me. Yep. He was dangerous. Sort of halfway between me and Xavier's little preppy, Summers.

"What exactly does Marie do?" Connor asked with a little frown.

"She absorbs other folks' lifeforce, memories, skills." I shrugged and slanted a look at Ellison. "And if she's touching a mutant she gets their powers, too. A friend of ours has a theory that if she hangs on too long the transfer'd be permanent."

"Which is why you haven't laid a hand on her," Ellison guessed.

I guess I let my grin get a little feral then. "Nah. I'm being a gentleman. I've already survived her touch three times."

"What happened?" Sandburg asked curiously.

"First time she woke me up out of a nightmare, she got hurt." I looked down at my hands. "She touched me and used my mutant ability to heal. Next two times someone else hurt her and I gave her my power."

"And that's all you do? Heal yourself?" Sandburg asked.

"I have heightened senses," I rumbled, "and these."

My claws shot out of my fists. Connor jumped back while Banks and Ellison went for their guns. I just raised an eyebrow and let the claws slide back in.

Sandburg hadn't moved an inch. "Oh, man. Doesn't that hurt?"

"Like a bitch," I muttered. I eyed the pistols still pointed at me and scowled at Banks and Ellison. "If I was gonna hurt anybody, I woulda by now. I ain't going nowhere. Not without Marie anyway."

"She's been taken into protective custody by Child Services," Connor managed.

"I protect her just fine," I growled.

"She should be in school," the lady cop argued, her Aussie accent getting as thick as Marie's Southern drawl.

I blinked. "She's enrolled at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youth. We're just taking the long way back."

My head jerked around the same time Ellison's did.

"Hey! You can't go back there, kid!" somebody shouted.

"Somebody stop her," someone else called out.

I sniffed at the air. Strawberry shampoo, and the waffles we'd had for breakfast before the cops stopped us for speeding. "Marie."

"Watch out! She's armed!"

Something heavy fell over and glass shattered.

"Where'd she get those?"

"My God! They came out of her hands!"

My claws flashed out again, slicing through the cuff holding me to the chair. I had smashed through the door before the four cops in with me could react. "Marie!"

"Logan!"

Then she was in my arms and against my chest with her face safely buried in my jacket. "Take it easy, darlin'. I'm all right."

"They said I couldn't see you," she muttered as her arms came up and coiled around my neck. "They told me they were gonna find my parents and send me back and they didn't listen when I tried to tell them about you and Xavier's and how everybody who cares knows I'm safe with you and..."

"It's okay, Marie," I whispered against her hair. "It's fine. Nobody's gonna split us up."

"Connor, get those two in my office," Banks ordered from behind me. "Ellison, get a hold of this Xavier guy. Sandburg... Get somebody to clean this mess up!"

I risked a glance around. A desk had been turned over, clawmarks raked across the top and through the computer that had been on it. I snorted. "That's my Marie."

"That's you in my head," she mumbled against my chest.

I glared at Connor when she maked a move as if to separate us. She just smiled a little and jerked her head toward Captain Banks' office door.

---

I was sitting in the chair in front of Banks' desk with Marie on my lap and Connor leaning against the bookcase behind us. I traced my fingers around the tears on her gloves, right between her knuckles where the claws had come out.

"That happen the other two times?" I whispered.

Marie nodded against my shoulder. She remained silent when Banks, Ellison, and Sandburg finally came in to the office.

"Well, Child Services has been convinced to release Marie to your custody," Banks said as he settled into his chair with an arched eyebrow. "I think it had something to do with a Doctor Grey on the other line when I called."

Marie blushed and hid her face in my jacket again.

"Marie?" I half growled.

"Umm. I called her when they took me to the group home," she mumbled. "She said she'd take care of it. Then I came looking for you."

I tugged lightly on her hair until she looked up in annoyance. "Anyone get hurt?"

"No," she said slowly. "But I wanted to hurt them. They took you away from me. Even when I told you not to hurt anyone, I..."

"Wanted to rip their throats out with your teeth," Ellison offered. He shrugged slightly. "I know the feeling."

Sandburg rolled his eyes.

I sniffed the air again and jabbed a finger at Ellison and Sandburg. "You two smell like a jungle, and this ain't one. What gives?"

They exchanged a look, all four of them this time and I growled a warning.

"I have heightened senses." Ellison shrugged. "Blair helps me control them."

"So you two are mutants?" Marie asked wide-eyed at the thought of mutants who were cops.

Sandburg -- I am not calling a guy "Blair," for Christ sake -- shook his head. "More like genetic throwbacks. A few thousand years ago and in some primitive tribes today, there exist individuals known as Sentinels with heightened senses used to protect and provide for the tribe. I'm his Guide. I keep him from focusing too deeply on just one sense and getting lost."

"Sort o'like you keep me from giving in to the animal in me," I teased Marie.

"Only me and Connor know about them," Banks rumbled with a hard glare at me. "We need to keep it that way."

"Don't want Jim ending up as a lab rat somewhere," Connor said with a grin.

I stiffened, but nodded slowly. Marie's gloved fingers brushed over my knuckles. "Yeah. Lab rat."

"She didn't mean anything by it, Logan," Marie breathed near my ear. "She couldn't know."

I nodded again and let my claws slide out slowly. "I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy, bub. Your secret's safe with us."

"I told you those couldn't be natural," Sandburg said as he swatted Ellison on the shoulder.

"The claws might be, but the metal sure as hell isn't," Ellison fired back.

"Knock it off you two," Banks snapped. He turned his eyes on me and Marie. "This school you go to... Is it a good place? For kids like you, I mean."

"Mutants," Marie said gently. "You can say it, you know. Yeah. It's good there."

"Then why aren't you stil there?" Connor asked curiously.

Marie grimmaced. "I was kidnapped. Again."

"But not by Logan," Connor added. "What do you mean again?"

"Too long a story," Marie said shaking her head. "Anyway, Logan saved me both times, and this time said he'd take me back to Xavier's."

Banks scowled. "Security isn't that tight, huh."

Marie scowled back at him. "I was at the mall, not on campus."

"Sir?" Sandburg asked with a slight frown.

"Darrel, my son," Banks said slowly, "is a mutant. His mother kicked him out of her house two weeks ago. I don't want to send him someplace he won't be safe, but he isn't safe with me."

"Because you're a cop," I guessed. I shifted slightly in the seat and Marie just turned those huge brown eyes on me. Damn. "We'll talk to him."

Which is how I ended up with a used SUV, a trailer hitch for the bike, and two teenagers singing along to some song on the radio called "I Quit."

Oh, I'd love to quit all right, but then Marie smiles at me so I keep driving. Alaska's on hold for a little while, I guess.

Damn it.

~Fin~