His mornings had a plain routine. He went through the motions. Everyone knew not to talk to him until his first cup of coffee, or maybe even his third. It was just the way things were in a mansion full of kids running around full of the fuel of youth, their voices ringing in his ears like approaching sirens of impending doom. He felt more like a weary old man every time he reached for the coffee maker like it was his salvation. The Wolverine, the mutant with a healing factor was addicted to fine brewed coffee, and it was the good stuff, only the best at Xavier’s. He was getting soft.

Almost two years since the passing of Xavier, Jean and Scott and sometimes it felt like yesterday, but the days he caught his reflection, spotted the caged look in his eyes, the grim set of his lips, and the trim of his hair, it felt like a lifetime ago because he didn’t recognize who he was anymore. Sure the scowl was still a popular expression on his face and he hadn’t taken up wearing pressed shirts like Scooter, but he’d made sacrifices along the way, here and there. Devoting his time to the children, making sure all the classes had teachers, simply so Storm could get a good night sleep or Jubilee didn’t have to drop another college course because more help was needed. He was suddenly a sentimental bastard.

The black of the coffee was the only thing that comforted him. Staring into its depths, he felt he was allowed the moment, maybe two to brood because really, for the rest of the time he wasn’t himself. Brooding was something he knew. He wasn’t some badass who use to follow the road wherever it would take him, who use to cage fight for the money but mostly the thrill. He was Mr. Logan the gym teacher. Although at Xavier’s gym training took on a whole new meaning, so the fact that the gym was stocked with the finest tools of defence and that a lesson or two was often held in the Danger Room, was sometimes enough for him to pretend he hadn’t changed at all. He got to pop the claws in class; he got to growl in the half-pints’ faces who were suppose to be the next heroes of the world. And nobody stopped him and told him he was being cruel, nobody stepped in and said that wasn’t the way things were suppose to be. The three graves that marked the grounds were a reminder to everyone that being a hero had a price.

Being the good guy had its sacrifices as well.

Despite the team meetings and the group lunches, he was alone. When his mind wandered, the thought of hitting the road would creep in, the thought of getting on his bike and leaving behind all these responsibilities would eat at him. Why did he care who was scheduled for dish clean up. He was the fucking Wolverine. But the road only held one thing for him, the never ending search for that one thing that he tried not to think about too much, tried not to use as the explanation for his apathy, because sometimes, when something or someone doesn’t want to be found, it’s just out of your hands.

So that’s why sometimes Logan found himself making his way through the staff kitchen just as dawn was breaking, the blue darkness of the night trying in vain to stay but the effort always futile; much the same, his hope that one morning the routine would break, that he’d finally snap out of it. But when his eyes would land on the coffee maker, he already had the plans for his class that day running through his head. One thought at a time was his new motto, the simpler the better.

This time was the only time he got to feel some resemblance of himself. No one else was usually up. No kids asking for his help. Just him and a cup of coffee. That was his whole world right down to a tee. He was so fucking domesticated; he was surprised he hadn’t donned one of Scott’s old robes.

Standing by the large glass windows of the kitchen, he blinked at the rising sun in the distance and allowed himself to sigh only once before taking a gulp from his cup. The hot liquid ran through his body quickly and he felt the constant weariness that seemed to follow him in the past two years dull a bit as the caffeine jolted his body. His gaze focused on the woods of the grounds and he refused to acknowledge there was a time that was all he needed, that he was a bare minimum kind of guy. The cup in his hand was the reminder nonetheless that his survival skills came down to a fine brewed dark liquid. Any way to get through the day and the day after that. Because good guys had responsibilities. Good guys don’t run away.

No they just hide; a voice rang in his head. One more gulp of coffee and the thought was gone; his mind on whether or not the new mats had come in for the gym.

He blinked once and then twice again. The sun was almost up in the sky but that wasn’t what had his attention. The small black object that was falling from the sky at an alarming rate was enough to jolt him out of his reverie. Squinting, he leaned forward. It moved to fast for a bird. Too small for a plane.

Before he could analyze it any further. The object crashed into the shed located on the grounds, the roof collapsing immediately. A large cloud of dust, earth and smoke billowing up around it’s destroyed remains. The sound of the crash, he thought he imagined it, but it rang throughout the grounds like a large sonic wave. He even felt the ground below him vibrate. Glancing in shock at the sound of a clatter beside him, in watched in awe as the cup of coffee on the table vibrated with aftershocks.

He’d put his coffee down at some point. His jaw opening slightly, he ignored the concerned shouts coming from the floor above him, his eyes back out on the shed. After a moment of hesitation, he quickly turned on his feet and headed for the patio door.

His coffee behind him forgotten. Suddenly, Logan wasn’t sure if he felt apprehension or the flaring of a small thrill because abruptly his routine had been broken. He was about to find out if he was able to deal with the consequences. Because rule number one for survival at Xavier’s as Mr. Logan the Gym Teacher was never break the routine.

His bare feet slipped against the dew that clung to the summer grass but he was in too much of a hurry to fall. From a few yards away he could tell nothing had moved in the shed, not even another sound was heard, just the dust and the earth settling around it’s once grand structure. Two familiar figures were running from the other side of the mansion.

Logan slowed his pace down as he spotted the alarmed expressions on both Bobby and Pete’s faces, both of them still in their pyjamas as well but their eyes were alert.

Bobby’s arm was iced up as he focused on the shed ready for an attack. “What the hell was that?” he exclaimed towards Logan.

“I don’t know,” Logan responded. “Something fell from the sky and crashed into the shed.”

Bobby’s expression of concern immediately turned to dumbfounded. “Whaaa...?”

Logan shrugged at his inability to articulate and headed back on course towards the shed annoyed by the interruption.

“Perhaps, we should wait for back up,” Pete called after him in concern, but Logan was already running.

At first it was hard to see through the fog of displaced earth as he made his way through the broken door. Tools lay around scattered everywhere; the whole place looked like a bomb had gone off. Stepping carefully around the destruction he moved closer to where there appeared to be a hole in floor and the earth under it.

Sudden coughing behind him caught him off guard. Bobby stumbled behind him with wide eyes.

“What the hell could have done this?” he gasped as his eyes watered.

A large ripping sound was heard as Pete removed and lifted the half hanging door off the shed as he took up the rest of the doorway.

“Logan is everything alright?” he called through.

Tentatively, Logan moved closer towards the indent in the ground, as the thick air around them finally settled.

“Holy Shit!” Bobby exclaimed.

“Go and get Hank now,” Logan yelled.

Stumbling to his knees beside him Bobby stuttered as he looked on in awe. “Is that..?”

Abruptly, Logan snarled in his face and grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him forward. “Didn’t I tell you to go and get the doc?!”

Bobby gulped deeply and nodded.

“Then go!” Logan roared.

Bobby stumbled back and ran out the door in a hurry.

“Logan?” Pete inquired again in concern, but he was aware enough from witnessing Logan’s actions to keep an amount of space.

A commotion could be heard outside of the shed as a crowd gathered.

“What happened to interrupt my beauty sleep?” Jubilee’s high voice rang through the murmuring crowd.

“Logan?” another voice called forward, as Storm’s head poked through the doorway. “What has happened? Are you alright?”

Sitting on his haunches by the large hole in the earth, Logan glanced at her, his eyes a little vibrant, the need for coffee long gone.

“Just get me Hank,” he growled dangerously low, his eyes quickly flashing back to the hole.

“Just get me Hank,” he whispered again, as he reached forward tentatively and trailed his bare hand across the familiar gloved one.

“Dear Goddess,” Storm gasped breathless behind him as she stepped forward.

A sudden motion on the still intact wall caught their attention as half of Kitty’s body phased through, her eyes went wide immediately. “Rogue!”

“What?!” Jubilee’s shrill voice followed from outside and Kitty was suddenly pulled back outside the wall.

Logan’s attention was back on the still body that lay atop the earth. Despite the destruction, Rogue appeared almost peaceful. Her hair was a little shorter; her cheeks more defined but the white bangs shone at him like a familiar beacon. He couldn’t explain it but somehow the mutant they all knew as Rogue lay in the middle of the destruction around them. Her eyes closed. Her voice silent. The story to be told was unknown to them all but for Logan suddenly it was enough to see her again in front of them.

Storm moved closer, as she bent down, her hand outstretched to touch Rogue’s arm and Logan found himself snarling in response. She backed up immediately with surprised eyes.

“Hank,” he muttered again, his voice a guttural growl.

“Is she alive?” Storm asked in concern, her voice a little shaky.

“She’s breathing and she has a heartbeat.”

Storm nodded once, her jaw dropping by the second as she tried to make sense of the scene before them.

“Are you sure...sure it’s her?”

Logan flared his nostrils and tilted his head, unconcerned for pretences. “Yes.”

A rustling was heard behind them as Hank stumbled through the door. “Is it really true?” he gasped. “Bobby said...”

Logan bolted right up and pulled Hank forward. “You tell me,” he growled.

“Oh my...” Hank gasped as his eyes fell on Rogue.

Logan pushed Hank closer. “What’s the prognosis doc?”

Hank’s eyes roamed the destroyed shed twice before falling back on Rogue.

“I have no idea.”

“Perhaps,” Storm interrupted them. “Hank, you should examine Rogue with Logan’s help alone,” she spoke tightly. “See if it is okay to move her to the lab.”

“Yes, yes of course,” Hank stuttered. “Excuse my shock; that would be the correct action.”

“Everyone out,” Storm commanded.

It took her several more commands to get everyone finally moving out and away, the shock moving from one person to another like a paralyzing disease.

Logan ignored the looks and the gossiping behind him, his gaze still fiercely focused on Rogue. He wasn’t sure if it was real. Was it a twist of fate that somehow the very thing he’d wanted, had been thinking, had landed literally in his backyard. He learned long ago not to trust such gifts but as Hank’s voice spoke to him, telling him she was remarkably okay to move he finally felt the first shock of energy move through his body, as both his senses and mind awoke. Because the time had come for him to throw routine out the window.

Because when the one person, the one woman on the whole earth who is a constant thought in the back of your head disappears and then reappears in your life so suddenly, it’s a hell of a thing to be alive. Coffee be damned, nothing like the door to the past being ripped open and flung in your face. That’s a certain kind of wakeup call that cannot be ignored.

“Is this all really necessary?” Jubilee asked with clear frustration.

Logan ignored the impatient movements of his teammates behind him; his attention was on the video screen in front of him. The whole team was situated in Storm’s office as they paid attention to the live feed coming through on the security system.

“Jubilee, this is a highly unlikely situation, discretion is a must,” Storm responded, her voice tense and her accent noticeably strained.

“But it’s Rogue!” Jubilee exclaimed.

Scowling at the chatter behind him Logan watched carefully as the video showed Rogue alone in the med lab, sleeping on one of the beds. He frowned at the restraints that held her arms down; they’d been installed on all the beds almost two years ago. It was a paranoid precaution that had well founded reasons. Another precaution was the fact that no one was in the room with her, not even Hank and particularly not him. He had a track record of messing things up when it came to precautions.

Storm sighed and Logan knew she was pinching the bridge of her nose, a common habit in the past two years.

“Jubilee,” she began tightly. “Have you forgotten why this is the procedure from now on?”

“No,” the young woman whispered back.

Her voice sounded so small to Logan’s ears, it was almost a shame; it wasn’t her fault that it was ‘procedure’. It wasn’t her fault that security cameras were installed in all the rooms in the lower levels. It wasn’t her fault Storm needed to know they were all present. Jubilee hadn’t been the one to rush down there two years ago and unknowingly release one of the world’s most powerful and out of control mutants. She wasn’t the one, who’d allowed her feelings for Jean to get the better of her.

“She did kind of just drop out of the sky, Jubes,” Bobby spoke up. “I mean we haven’t heard from her in almost a year and a half.”

“I’m well aware of that, Bobby,” she hissed.

“Well I mean, how do you explain the fact that Hank said there wasn’t a scratch on her.”

“Really, just shut up, Bobby,” she snapped back, her agitation building.

Logan turned a little to watch out of the corner of his eye the shocked and silencing look on Bobby’s face. It was hard not to take joy out of it. They may be a team but there were still a lot of tensions between them, a lot of unvoiced accusations. It was all incredibly healthy.

“I believe while we are all rightfully stressed by these unique circumstances, there is nothing we can do until she awakes. From my diagnosis, she appears in perfect health, the only consequence of the fall appears to be a slight concussion at best,” Hank voiced, trying to calm everyone’s frazzled nerves.

“And how do you explain that?” Kitty spoke up quietly. “I mean where did she fall from?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Hank answered with obvious disbelief.

“Which is why...,” Storm began again only to be interrupted by Jubilee.

“I get it okay,” Jubilee continued. “The Rogue we knew wouldn’t have survived such a thing. I get the precautions. I just don’t think it’s fair.”

Yes, Logan mused, was it fair that Rogue was once again paying for one of his mistakes. For Jean’s. For the Professor’s. Sometimes it was so very hard to catch a break. He could sense Storm watching him, her eyes burning through him. Because of course while Jubilee voiced her concerns, he was the one to watch. His silence only confirmed the direction of his focus. Because he’d been the one to try and help Jean before, out of supposed love disguised for lust, but Storm knew, she knew how deep his feelings for Rogue went. Maybe not the extent, but after seeing him throw himself on the line to save her so many times in the past, he had to give her credit to be worried about him, because he was the Wolverine and when Rogue was involved, he had a habit of doing something rash, of doing something unpredictable.

It was hard to see but Logan was sure he’d just seen Rogue’s eyelids flutter. Moving closer towards the screen, he watched in odd fascination, waiting for something he wasn’t exactly sure of, something more than the tell tale signs of her waking up. His mind was over worked with the morning’s events. Sure being a mutant, let alone an X-Men meant he was use to odd surprises and events he couldn’t explain but when they involved someone close to you, someone you’d been waiting for and looking for without even knowing it, well the urge to be drawn in was a given. Oddly, enough his concern wasn’t how she fell from the sky, his choice of questions and concerns lay in the past. Where had she been? Why had she left without saying good-bye? Why’d she leave such a cold trail?

“I believe she is waking up,” Hank voiced ominously.

His eyes glued to the screen Logan watched as Rogue’s eyelids fluttered again and suddenly they all heard a sudden gasp on the screen as Rogue bolted up right in the bed. The restraints around her arms snapped like kindling, un-noticed by her, but overtly picked up by the rest of them. Taking a deep breath her wide eyes glanced around the room and Logan spotted the moment familiarity seeped into her gaze and he felt something tighten in him when that familiarity turned to what he could only call disappointment. She didn’t want to be here. We’ll that was something to go with, clearly, it hadn’t been her plan to fall from the sky into their backyard.

“That bitch, and her sense of humour,” Rogue muttered to herself, but they all heard it through the security system. Rogue no longer seemed surprised but resigned to her current predicament.

Shifting the blanket off of her she jumped off the bed and her gaze wondered around the room. By the minute Logan and the others became more increasingly aware as they watched her. It was almost as though he felt he could pick out her thoughts. She knew where she was but where were they.

Tentatively, he watched her take in her surroundings once more, her gaze focused on the restraints on the bed finally and he saw the wheels turning in her head. She smirked dangerously and her eyes moved up to glancing around the top of the room. He frowned. She was looking right at them. Her eyes focused on the tiny camera. She knew they were there. She smiled knowingly and moved off to the side, she wasn’t visible for a second, but that second was enough, as the video quickly switched to a static feed. The camera broken.

“She knows,” Logan spoke quietly. “She knew we were watching her.”

No one spoke up, their eyes wide and confused, anxiety building in the room. Rogue had been calm. She hadn’t called out for any of them. It was not the reaction they were expecting.

“If she’s on the move the only way up and out is the south elevator,” Storm’s voice rose through the concerned silence.

“On the move,” Kitty reiterated. “You make it sound like she’s after us.”

“Maybe she just didn’t like being tied down and watched like an animal,” Jubilee voiced. “Especially by her supposed friends. I mean no one is down there to welcome her back and...”

“Jubilee,” Storm snapped, for compliance.

Logan moved for the door quickly, but Bobby and Pete beat him to it, everyone running out as they headed for the elevator that would carry them to the lower levels.

Rounding a corner sharply he spotted Bobby and Pete already glancing around. The elevator door dinged but when the doors slid open it was empty.

“What the hell?” Bobby murmured.

“She must still be down there,” Pete spoke up.

“Well let’s go,” Logan grunted in annoyance as they piled into the elevator.

Bobby reached over and pressed the button but the doors wouldn’t close.

“They’re jammed.”

A growl escaped him in frustration. “We’ll take the emergency one on the other side.”

Bobby and Pete nodded already heading in that direction as the girls and Hank caught up to them.

“The elevator is jammed, we’re going to take the emergency one, we need your codes Storm,” Bobby called out behind him.

“Jammed?” Storm inquired in concern.

“I have no idea,” Bobby answered.

“I don’t think anyone knows what’s going on,” Kitty voiced.

Heading in the other direction with the others Logan paused. Something wasn’t right. He was recognizing the signs of misdirection.

“Logan?”

“You go on,” Logan told Storm. “There’s something I need to check.”

She looked at him in concern, her lips moving in a sign she was about to question him but she nodded strangely and followed the others.

Turning back around he sprinted to the abandoned elevator they’d tried moments ago. The doors were shut. Pressing the down button, the doors opened smoothly, but the elevator was still empty. Poking his head in he spotted the loose tile in the ceiling. Somebody had come up in the elevator just not the way they thought.

Scowling he clenched and unclenched his fists, his nostrils flaring as he picked up on Rogue’s fresh scent. She’d moved on quickly. Running through the halls it didn’t take him long, for the trail stopped abruptly outside the door of Xavier’s old study. She wasn’t hiding anymore.

Slowly, opening the door his gaze fixated on the young woman who had her back to him, completely unconcerned as she threw book after book over her shoulder. Her gloved fingers skimming over Xavier’s book shelves in a hurry.

“Do you think he actually read all of these?” she spoke, her back still to him. “I mean he was always trying to save the world, that doesn’t leave a lot of time for sitting back and reading all the classics.”

“Rogue,” he started, his tactics thrown off balance at her indifference to his appearance. Let alone her actions of rummaging through Xavier’s old book shelves. He thought it best to go with directness. “What are you doing?”

“Just looking for a book, sugah. Thought I’d catch up on some light reading while I was here.”

Her hands skimmed another row of books.

“Rogue.” When she didn’t answer he became angry. “Marie.”

Her back tensed and she fumbled in reaching for the next book, but she shook it off quickly.

“Look at me,” he demanded.

“I’m busy, Logan,” she replied tersely.

“I think you should be busy explaining yourself.”

“Another time,” she threw back dismissively. His shoulders tensed at her dismissal.

Finally, she seemed to settle on what she wanted and she pulled out a small rustic looking book that had a thin layer of dust on it. She grasped it in her gloved hands tightly and stepped back.

“To think all those years, sitting in this room with him, he was smug enough to have it laying out right in front of me, right in front of everyone,” she spoke quietly, her eyes on the book. “He would be arrogant enough to do that.”

Turning around she finally regarded Logan as though he’d just appeared that second. Immediately, he found himself a little thrown off by her appearance. It was one thing to see her asleep and motionless after some time, but to see her standing confidently in front of him, her tight dark jeans hugging curves he knew a long time ago were going to be dangerous, accompanied by a tight fitting deep green long sleeved shirt and a plunging neck line that emphasized her ample chest, with a beaten up bomber jacket, well it definitely caught him off guard. The way she arched her hips towards him didn’t help one bit either.

She smiled at him and he could only call it a dangerous smile, a warning that with her, anyone was going to be playing with fire. He was looking at a true Rogue. Somehow he just knew it.

“We’ll I’m going to be off,” she spoke off hand.

He blinked twice as he directed his attention on what she was saying.

“Rogue, you’re not going anywhere.”

Her eyes narrowed at him in what he could only call amusement. He didn’t like it. She looked at him like he was some ignorant child.

“Is that a threat?”

He shook his head. “I’m not threatening you.”

“No, no I suppose you wouldn’t,” she muttered as she glanced at the book in her hand again.

“You just...” he paused. “You just appeared out of nowhere, Rogue, do you really think we’re – I’m- just going to let you walk back out.”

She smirked and moved to walk around him. “I’m leaving, Logan.”

“We’ll I gotta say I’m surprised you’re doing it this time with me around to see it,” he directed towards her back bitterly.

She stopped as her back tensed as though she’d been struck.

She glanced at him over her shoulder. “What difference does it make if you see me going? Doesn’t change the outcome.”

He was about to respond when the door burst open as the rest of the X-Men piled in. Rogue was mildly surprised and quickly back tracked towards the large windows on the far wall.

“Rogue?!” Bobby gasped.

“That would be me,” she answered briskly.

Collectively, all of the X-Men’s faces frowned and Logan would have found it comical if he wasn’t so concerned and put off by the current situation.

Storm moved through the crowded X-Men with authority.

“Rogue,” she began. “If you’d simply sit down and tell us...”

“I’d really like to stick around and maybe have some of your fine herbal tea Storm, I really really would,’ Rogue spoke and Logan knew he wasn’t the only one sensing the mockery in her tone. “But I have places to be.”

“Other sheds to drop into?” Kitty spoke up and she seemed surprised herself at her snippiness.

Rogue smiled tightly. “Don’t worry I’ll foot the bill on that damage.”

“We don’t care about the shed, Rogue,” Jubilee spoke up desperately. “We just want to know what the hell is going on? Why are you acting like this? Why are you running from us?”

Rogue’s posture changed to a more submissive position as she regarded Jubilee surprisingly warmly.

“Look, I’m sorry, but really, I’m just here for a book.”

Storm’s eyes hardened. “That is one of the Professor’s books.”

Immediately, the dominant posturing asserted itself in Rogue’s stance as her face turned hard. “This book belongs to me more than it ever belonged to Charles,” her tone final and cold.

The chill in the room was felt by everyone.

“Rogue, we just want to talk,” Storm began softer, trying another route. “You’ve been gone for a while and...”

“I’ve got to go,” Rogue interrupted sternly.

Logan took a step towards her, his eyes narrowing.

“You’re not going anywhere, Rogue.”

She lifted her chin in defiance at him. “You going to stop me, Logan?”

She was challenging him. “Yeah,” he responded back. “Ain’t like me to step down.”

She smirked almost fondly at him and nodded once before glancing out the window.

“I guess those are the lines drawn then,” she whispered.

Turning back to face Storm and the others she smiled at them, her eyes almost shining. “I’ll send you a cheque for the shed and the window.”

“Window??” Bobby voiced.

Rogue quickly charged towards the window and crashed through it like it was paper. Glass shattered everywhere and Logan raised his arm up to protect his face.

He glared at the shattered window. Surprises were a habit he wasn’t becoming fond of. Everyone ran over towards the window.

“Where the hell did she go?” Bobby exclaimed as they all looked down from the second floor.

“It’s not down, it’s up,” Kitty spoke up, her tone filled with awe.

Logan pushed through as they all watched a familiar figure fly up in the sky and away.

“Is that...?” Bobby began only for Jubilee to finish for him.

“Well, it ain’t Superman.”

The feeling of flying brought to mind a whole list full of adjectives and poetic phrases but when it came right down to it, flying was just pretty damn cool. It was awesome. It was exhilarating. It was like feeling the wind kiss your skin in familiarity...now she was getting off track. Flying was a thrill and it was also key in escape plans, something Rogue learned very early on, very, very early on. She didn’t want to reflect on her habit of needing escape plans. She was just well prepared, that was all. Bursting straight up into the sky, set her nerves on fire, gave her that quick hit of ecstasy that made being a mutant pretty worth it. So when she landed in an empty alleyway, even as her feet touched down lightly on the ground her hands were shaking a little, all from the rush, it certainly had nothing to do with the fact she’d just run into Logan and the X-Men like it was an everyday occurrence and had bolted before things could have gotten more interesting. They’d been a small hindrance; that was all, she had a goal and she’d accomplished it because she was the Rogue and the Rogue didn’t pussy foot around things, she got the job done. So what if she’d just been face to face with old friends, comrades and not to mention the man who’d taken up most of her life’s thoughts, she’d left for a reason, it wasn’t like she was going to stay and chit chat, even if Logan had looked more than exceptional in his trademark jeans.

Yeah, it wasn’t her fault they’d been home at the time of her arrival. Although, it was kind of her fault she hadn’t been awake on arrival, partly. A quieter entrance would have been preferred. In and out without any face time. She wasn’t a coward really. She had places to be, people to see. Really. She refused to dwell on the tiny amount of surprise she’d felt at seeing Logan still at the mansion and the way he had looked at her. Dwelling wasn’t her thing; she was a woman of action.

Kicking open the side metal door on the brick layered building she strolled through with purpose as the techno music coming from within thumped in her ears, getting her blood flowing. One adrenaline rush after another.

The green haired mutant standing in front of a black curtain nodded at her in recognition. Rogue gave her a curt nod as the curtain opened. Walking through, the assault of the continuous beat was instantaneous as she was at the heart of the club. Peering down from the walkway, she watched as a few cluster of mutants mingled on the dance floor. The liquor was flowing despite the time of day; any mutant haven was going to be popular any time.

Leisurely, Rogue made her way down the steps, her hand trailing along the rail idly. A few people recognized her and raised their drinks at her but she wasn’t planning on partaking in any pleasurable activities at the moment.

Briskly, she moved through the floor and walked past the bar where a familiar face was mixing drinks. Pyro threw the small towel he’d just used to wipe the bar down with over his shoulder and lent forward as she approached. He was wearing a long sleeved orange shirt, one arm rolled up, where the scars were visible. His hair was spiked brown, the blonde tips grown out a long time ago, a reminder of poor choices. A long vertical scar ran down from his left temple to his jaw, it was where a piece of a flying car door had hit him in the face. It had happened at Alcatraz Island. Obviously. Flying car doors weren’t common place.

John had seen firsthand the price for Magneto’s cause. He paid the cost by recognizing it too late. She never understood how he had ignored Magneto’s abandonment of Mystique after the cure, what did that say about the rest of them. And when things had gotten out of hand at Alcatraz, John had been left to fend for himself. Another one lost to the cause.

John had no cause anymore. Mutant or Human. X-Men or Brotherhood. He was just a mutant getting by. Besides being a bartender at a mutant club wasn’t exactly boring.

“Is she here?” Rogue asked tersely. John recognized the annoyance in her voice and smiled knowingly.

“In the back.”

She nodded and moved towards the door that was marked STAFF.

“Need a drink, Rogue?” he called.

“Nah, but she may need a stiff one afterwards.”

His laughter followed her through the door.

Walking through another black door Rogue entered the lounge, her eyes alert. The walls were randomly red and black, the furniture dark and gothic looking. Rogue herself found it to be a bit over the top but she knew that the long black leather couch was rather comfy. She frowned at the woman sitting on it whose expression was filled with knowing amusement.

“Nice stunt, Raven,” she muttered as she sat across from the other women.

Mystique leaned forward and only smiled at Rogue. “We’ll you're here so I’m assuming it went well.”

“You threw me out of a damn plane!”

“You can fly and you’re invulnerable.”

Rogue’s eyes widened. “You slipped a sedative in my drink!”

“You were wasting time,” Mystique responded as though she’d just answered for everything.

“There could have been a better way to approach the situation.”

“You were stalling, Rogue and you know it,” she replied, raising one eyebrow as her yellow eyes gleamed. “The way you were going on about it, it was probably going to be months before you set foot in that mansion. Saying you needed a plan.” Mystique threw a hand up in the air dismissively. “No plan needed. You drop in. The X-Men are thrown off and you get what you need without any of the added emotional drama that would have surely exhausted you.”

Rogue balled her fists. “YOU THREW ME OUT OF A PLANE!”

“I knew you’d survive.”

Rogue huffed in display and relaxed against her seat. “I don’t know if that shows you have a large amount of confidence in me or if you’re just a sadist.”

Mystique’s red lips thinned as she smiled. Rogue frowned.

“I don’t want to know.”

Mystique reached over and picked up a blue cocktail beside her.

“I landed in a shed,” Rogue remarked.

The blue mutant sipped her drink with a smile. “My timing was off then. Too bad it wasn’t the Wolverine’s room.”

Rogue glared at her. “You really are trying to make me throw you through a wall today, aren’t you?”

Mystique shrugged behind her drink and even that simple movement was somehow seductive. “Maybe I’m just bored.”

Rogue rolled her eyes.

“Well did you get it? Was I right?”

“Yes,” Rogue hissed through her teeth. “All that time and he knew....” she huffed as she trailed off.

“A waste of time being angry with the dead, Rogue.”

Simultaneously both of Rogue’s eyebrows went up surprised at such advice coming out of the other woman’s lips. “You are enjoying today far too much.”

Mystique nodded. “It’s not every day I get to throw someone out of a plane – maybe annually, but certainly not every day.”

Rogue turned her head away. She really hated it but sometimes it was really hard to stay in a state of pure rage around Mystique. She knew it was an unhealthy fault of hers. They didn’t have an easy alliance but after the cure, after Magneto’s dismissal of her she hated to say it but somewhere along the way Mystique had become even more relaxed. She was the opposite of pretty much everyone Rogue knew. Whereas anger made people irrational; betrayal and rage seemed to only make Mystique calmer. It was frightening. Because Rogue had plenty to be angry about with the woman. But common goals had a habit of enemies becoming – allies. Certainly not friends.

“You’re going to win a Mother of the Year award any day now,” she responded flippantly.

Oh yeah, and there was the added fact that in her earlier life Mystique had been her foster mother. It was a funny thing finding out about a life you don’t remember. She kind of figured Logan himself wasn’t going to be prepared for it if he ever found out his past. Apparently, they had a lot more in common than she’d originally thought. Logan hadn’t been the only one with forgotten memories. Forgotten ties.

“God,” Mystique moaned dramatically. “You spend a few hours in the care of the X-Men and suddenly your back to being a whiny brat.”

“They never intentionally threw me out of a plane.”

“No they just restricted your potential.”

“I swear I am not in the mood for the ‘potential’ speech today.”

“Well, I won’t have to get to it, if you show me what you took.”

“I thought it was reclaimed?”

“Rogue,” the other woman spoke in a warning tone.

“Whatever,” she replied as she took the small book out of her jacket and threw it on the couch beside the other woman as she got up. Walking towards the small bar she poured herself a glass of whiskey.

“It’s damaged,” Mystique spoke up after a few moments. “Pages missing.”

Rogue glanced over her shoulder as she finished her drink and poured herself another.

“He also rebound it as you can see,” she paused to take a sip, enjoying the burn as the amber liquid went down. “I figure he had the original diary, but it was damaged already, so he took the salvageable pages and bound them in a book, so no one would be the wiser.” Taking another gulp she finished her second drink. “Xavier was resourceful like that.”

“Don’t be so bitter, Rogue,” Mystique muttered but her eyes were wandering over the pages with focus. “He thought he was doing what was best.”

“Then why didn’t he tell any of the other X-Men?”

“Maybe he did, but his two top students aren’t around to tell us.”

Rogue glared into her empty glass. “I doubt it,” she replied darkly. “He failed to tell us and most importantly Scott and Jean about the Phoenix. “ She reached for the bottle as her thoughts turned dark.

Mystique looked up from the pages. “Yes, I suppose Xavier wasn’t immune to arrogance.”

Rogue turned around and glanced at her.

“He and Erik did have that in common.”

Rogue snorted as she raised her glass to her lips but a large explosion came from outside the door.

“What the hell?” she started.

Mystique was already on her feet. She threw the book back at Rogue.

“Put it away,” she commanded sharply.

Quickly, Rogue put the book back in the inside pocket of her jacket.

John abruptly burst through the door.

“It’s that damn Cajun,” he exclaimed.

Mystique glared at Rogue. “You and your taste in men.”

Rogue looked mildly sheepish before nonchalant as she finished her drink much to Mystique’s dismay. “It’s not my fault he’s a thief.”

“Maybe you should ask that of the men you bed next time.”

“Then I’d be paranoid,” Rogue replied, slowly she smirked. “Then I’d be like you.” Thinking on what she’d just said she shivered.

“Guys,” John interrupted. “That thief just blew up part of the main entrance.”

“Anyone hurt?” Rogue asked.

“No,” he replied. “But it’s a lot of mayhem.”

“He thinks he has us trapped,” Mystique muttered.

“Well, if he’s here we could try and turn the tables and get the diary he has from him. Then we’d only need one more.”

Mystique was quiet for a moment as Rogue knew she was assessing the situation.

“He’s good at what he does Rogue.”

“Oh I know,” Rogue spoke up with a smile.

Mystique’s glare did shut her up the second time.

“He most likely doesn’t have it on him and I don’t want to take him on so directly when we have one of them in our own hands.”

“So what do we do?”

“John,” Mystique commanded. “You cause your own little distraction out there but try not to damage the place to much I’m kind of fond of the drinks here.”

The shouts from inside the club were getting closer.

“And Rogue you’ll be in charge of making a new back exit.”

“Got it,” John yelled already moving back through the door.

Sighing, Rogue put her empty glass down and walked over to the far outside wall.

“I thought you were a fan of the interior decorating in here,” she threw over her shoulder as she punched through the wall. Plaster going in every direction.

“I’m a bigger fan of escape routes,” Mystique responded.

Rogue nodded. Guess that ran in the family.

Four more punches and the last time she hit brick as it crumbled away and the sounds of the street outside were heard clear as day. Pushing through the wall she stumbled onto the sidewalk, ignoring the few people who looked on from the other side of the street in surprise. Brushing herself off, Mystique followed her with an impatient look.

Rogue ignored her as she dusted her shoulder off.

“You’re not the one who did all the hard work.”

“Time to go, Rogue.”

“Right, right,” she muttered. “Hold on.” Reaching over she grasped Mystique’s hand. “I wouldn’t want to drop yah now.”

“How original,” the other woman snapped.

“I suppose it doesn’t have the same flare as a plane,” she responded as she pushed off the ground and they flew up into the sky.

“I’m starting to doubt your sanity.”

“Only now,” Mystique remarked with a smile that showed all white.

Rogue narrowed her eyes at the other woman as she leaned against a tree, the rough bark digging into her shoulders.

“You asked me to drop us off in the middle of nowhere,” she gestured at the thick forest around them and the clearing off to the side. “It will be night soon.”

“You’re a tough girl, Rogue. Didn’t Wolverine ever teach you any survival skills?”

Her eyes went wide in response. “We are NOT staying here.”

“For the moment,” Mystique replied forwardly.

“I am not spending the night out here.”

“You can afford one night without a drink,” Mystique called over her shoulder as she scouted the area.

Rogue silently fumed as she directed her glare at the woman’s blue back.

“Besides you should cut back anyways, maybe it wouldn’t have been so easy for me to slip you that sedative.”

Rogue snorted.

“You’ve become too accustomed to the high life, Rogue, I blame myself.”

She couldn’t help it; she grasped her stomach as laughter spilled out of her mouth. Pretending to wipe tears from her eyes she sighed dramatically. “Don’t go playing the martyr on me now.”

Mystique threw her a precarious smirk.

“We’re out here because of you Rogue. That thief found us too quickly. You’d only just got your hands on the diary. It will be harder for him to find us in the middle of the woods.”

“Fine. Whatever,” she remarked as she sat down against a large rock and dramatically raised her arms behind her head. “I’ll just star gaze.”

After about a minute she became restless. “We’re in the middle of nowhere,” she stressed again. “I didn’t sign up to be part of Robin Hood’s merry men. We don’t have supplies...”

“You want supplies,” Mystique interrupted as she walked towards her. Rogue frowned; she did not like the look on her face or the tone of her voice. “I’ll get you all the resources you need.”

Pulling her hands back from behind her head she shifted up straighter in concern. Mystique’s smirk made the back hairs on her neck stand on end.

“If I recall the X-Jet had all kinds of supplies.”

Rogue bolted up right. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the formations of a new plan.”

“I’m not very fond of your plans.”

“The X-Men most likely will not just forget about you dropping in and stealing from them, they’ll be looking for you.”

“They can’t use cerebro, Raven, you know that, no telepath.”

“I’m sure the explosion downtown in a curious mutant area might draw their attention.”

“That’s a rare possibility, but so what?”

“And now that the thief is so close and we finally have our hands on one of the last remaining and existing diaries, we need some added back up.”

Rogue laughed. “You want the X-Men to help us? Help you?” Rogue shook her head.

“More like a distraction.”

“No,” she replied firmly. “The less they’re involved the better.”

“I’d almost say you sound concerned for them but it’s not that,” Mystique paused. “What’s there to be afraid of?”

“Nothing,” Rogue muttered.

“I can keep the Wolverine occupied if you wish,” Mystique smiled devilishly. “You don’t have to explain yourself to them.”

“What kind of distraction?” she murmured dejectedly.

“The more people with us, the more confusion.”

“I understand the purpose of a distraction, Raven,” she stressed through her clenched teeth. “What are you going to tell them, to get them involved?”

“The truth.”

“Really?” she asked knowingly suspicious.

“Okay so some half-truths, enough of the truth that they won’t notice what we leave out.”

“You mean what we lie about.”

“It’s not a lie if we never have to tell them to begin with.”

“So what truth?”

“We'll give them what we have on the Friends of Humanity.”

“I already don’t like this,” Rogue replied as she sat on top of the rock. “Involving Graydon is too close for comfort.”

“They don’t have to know he’s my son.”

Rogue shrugged as she began to search her pockets.

“We'll tell them about how he’s the one who created the FOH and that he’s planning on backing the proposed sentinel program with his own money. From our sources we know his industries are the only ones who have the planned hard drive of the proposal. The X-Men get their hands on it and destroy it and the scientists and politicians will have to start from scratch but also find new funding, Graydon Creed’s name will be damaged once it’s let out the information was stolen on his watch and the FOH’s reputation.”

“That’s if they aren’t farther along in the project than we think, what if they already have back up files and...?”

“It is too early on Rogue; they haven’t even built a prototype. He’s only just gotten them the money, all the project is at the moment is data. Data I’m sure the X-Men will be interested in, especially after Stryker and the cure guns.”

“And I suppose while this is going on we’re going to confront Graydon.”

“Two birds with one stone,” Mystique replied confidently. “The X-Men make a big splash, we get in, we find his copy of one of the last diaries and that’s that.”

“I still say he could have burned his copy years ago.”

“No, my son has far too much hate and greed in him.”

Rogue refused to comment.

“He hates mutants. He hates knowing he came from mutants but most of all that stems from his insecurities of being a human in a lineage of mutants. He cannot be great the way we are so he tries to take us down. Despite all that there is a part of him that wonders about his purpose, wonders if Destiny had included him in any of her prophecies. He’s curious about the fate of all kind.”

“We’ll I haven’t met the guy, so can’t argue the point.”

“You met him once, Rogue, too young to remember.”

“That old story.”

She shrugged indifferently as she finally found what she was looking for in her back pocket. Taking the cigarette she put it in her mouth as she searched for the lighter.

“So I hate to be redundant,” she mumbled around the cigarette. “But how are you going to get the X-Men to agree to this?”

“I’ll call them,” Mystique replied. “Give me your cell.”

Rolling her eyes, Rogue threw her cell at her and finally found her lighter as well.

“Be my guest, I’m sure they’ll be in a hurry.”

“They will if I tell them I’m holding you captive.”

“What?” Rogue yelled as she stood up again, the cigarette falling out of her mouth as she fumbled to catch it.

“I’m just going to say I’m threatening you if they don’t show up. Tell them I forced you to steal from them. Get their attention.”

“They’re not going to believe you. After today they’ll be weary of me, they won’t be wondering how to save me.”

“They will be suspicious, Rogue, I don’t doubt that and they obviously will believe it’s not what it seems but they will come.”

“They will not.”

“You were one of them Rogue, they have a habit of trying to save each other, even if it’s from themselves.”

“They won’t come,” Rogue mumbled solemnly.

“Sure they will,” Mystique replied with enthusiasm as she flipped the phone open. “Wolverine’s with them Rogue.”

“So?” she replied glaring at her.

“You could be on the other side of the world yelling fire and he’d find a way to show up with a fire truck.”

“You’re insane,” she spat back.

“I’ve seen him in action when you’ve been unconscious Rogue; the man has an incredible unnerving focus when it comes to you.”

She could hear the dial tone as Mystique held the phone up to her ear.

“We’ll I guess we’re going to see whose right.”

Rogue tried to keep her mind blank. Blank thoughts. No need to wonder who’d she’d be more happy for when whoever turned out to be right. She wasn’t hopeful. Not one bit. No X-Men meant no drama, no confrontations and certainly no explanations. But no X-Men also meant she was a lost cause. Whatever, she thought defensively, she had never truly been a part of their cause, and she didn’t care. She had her own life. If they showed up then it be business. She could do business. And if they didn’t show up then she was flying away to a nice hotel while Mystique could Lord of Flies it herself.

“Time to get your game face on Rogue.”

Logan wasn’t really sure what to be expecting let alone what he should be thinking. Rogue sure knew how to pull off a homecoming, but he supposed that wasn’t true since she hadn’t stuck around for the after party. The clean up mess.

He was a very good tracker but when she had just taken off into the sky there wasn’t much he could do. No scent to follow. It made him feel useless which in return made him feel irritated and edgy. Not that he should have been that surprised. Rogue had a habit of disappearing on him. Coming home one day to find she’d packed and moved out without a good-bye at the least was something he had no control over. Storm assuring him that Rogue was attending school in the city hadn’t been enough and it certainly hadn’t been enough when it turned out Rogue had lied about that too; the apartment Storm had set her up in empty and already up for renting. She’d just disappeared and the trail was cold, which meant she’d planned it with him in mind, which meant her leaving was supposed to mean something purposeful to him.

And it had. It was a funny thing reconciling your everyday world with reality, because the one thing Logan had always depended on to be there wasn’t. Perhaps, he’d taken her for granted but most of all he hated the way she’d turned the tables. And she’d changed the rules of the game because he’d always left her the tags when he went off but all she had left for him was an empty room and a coldness that had made him numb.

And that numbness was rapidly receding as the events of the day panned out. Rogue wasn’t hiding anymore. A phone call from Mystique was enough to put the frazzled X-Men on paranoid alert. They weren’t sure who Rogue was playing for. A true Rogue.

Cracking his knuckles as he sat in the X-Jet he was becoming less and less patient as Pete and Storm landed the jet in the darkening clearing. A perfect site for an ambush. But what was he to do, Mystique had dangled the appropriate bargaining chip in front of him, so he was forced to play the game.

He was ready to participate though, ready to have the pieces all fall down. He’d have to take his cue from Rogue though and he was un-easy about that because the woman he’d met earlier in the day had been cool and cold towards him, she’d been worse, she’d been indifferent. That meant he was on unknown ground.

The jet landed smoothly and he was up and out of his seat before any of the others as he stalked towards the descending ramp.

“Logan!” Storm called after him in warning. “Wait!”

He wasn’t waiting. He didn’t care if it was a trap. He’d been waiting almost two years to see her.

He wasn’t waiting and Storm could deal with it.

The night was almost a pure dark but the light that came from inside of the jet trailed out and brought artificial warmth to what appeared to be a deserted field. Walking towards the bottom, he gazed side from side, his nostrils flaring as he scented the air. Only two scents. Two familiar scents.

It couldn’t be that big of an ambush.

Mystique stepped forward into the light and smiled at Logan as though they were old friends. He hated it.

Frowning he glared at her. “Where’s Rogue?” he demanded sternly.

He spotted an orange tip behind Mystique in the darkness, and he heard the inhaling of smoke before the orange ashes dropped to the ground and burnt out.

“Right here,” Mystique almost beamed at him as Rogue shifted up into the light, her arms crossed, and her posture apathetic but nowhere near as impassive or as cold as the expression on her face.

“Well,” he began hotly as he stepped off the ramp and onto the ground. “You seem to be fine, doesn’t look like the blue bitch has been torturing you.”

“Her talking is enough,” Rogue threw at him with a saucy smirk, her eyes sparking for a moment.

He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to smile. Mystique however, did pause to glare at Rogue who remained rudely oblivious. It seemed Rogue had acquired a habit of getting under everyone’s skin.

He heard the others approaching behind him, their walks steady as they tried to appear confident in the situation but he knew they weren’t the ones in control.

“You going to tell me what this is all about?” he directed at Rogue, his voice detached, trying to match her. “Starting from the moment you landed in the shed.”

Rogue tilted her head towards Mystique. “She’s the one with the words.”

“Rogue’s more about the action,” Mystique added with a knowing smile.

Logan snorted. “What are you two, a team?”

“Well,” Rogue drawled. “We don’t go around wearing the same outfit but I suppose we work together from time to time. But since there are just two of us, that would make us more of a duo or a partnership, wouldn’t it Raven?”

Mystique didn’t blink as she watched Logan. “I think you’d be correct, Rogue.”

It was an effort to restrain the growl he felt building in his chest in annoyance. He was being played.

“You’re working with a woman who got you almost killed,” he directed at Rogue with more emotion than he would have liked, he sounded betrayed. “From the Brotherhood!”

“I’m not Brotherhood anymore, Wolverine,” Mystique replied tightly.

“I don’t care,” he snapped as he moved his eyes back on her. “You’re still a treacherous bitch.”

“That is true,” Rogue slipped in as she nodded at Logan.

Logan could only look on at her in disbelief.

“Have you had any problems with Magneto recently, Wolverine?”

“What?” he responded as he glanced at the blue mutant.

“I believe I paid a recent visit to the man and believe me he won’t be causing any problems for a long time. You should be thanking me.”

“Fuck you.”

Mystique’s lips twitched. “Let’s just say Rogue and I found we had a lot in common after the cure had worn off.”

“You could have come back,” he directed at Rogue, his expression still furious but his eyes didn’t hide his confusion, he could feel it bleeding out of him.

Rogue finally gave him her full focus as her head quirked at him as though she’d picked up something else in his tone and he thought for a moment she was going to actually give him an honest reply but she spotted the others as they descended and her face shut down again.

“Logan,” Storm voiced beside him, her tone questioning.

“They’re working together,” he snapped.

“What?” Jubilee gasped in surprise.

“Well go on Rogue,” he spat at her. “Tell them you’re in a partnership with the enemy.”

“I think you just told them for me.”

He clenched his fist and felt the trickle of a growl slip past his twisted lips.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

She actually blinked at that. “We don’t have enough time for that right now.”

“Storm,” Mystique interrupted. “We simply wanted your attention, the chance to talk.”

Storm eyed the other woman for a moment before speaking, “There are more appropriate ways to go about that.”

“Yes, I’m sure...” the other woman began only to be interrupted by Kitty.

“How did you land in our shed, Rogue?”

Tilting her head Rogue smirked slowly at her and Logan frowned as Kitty took a step back.

“I fell out of a plane.”

“What? How...?” Kitty stuttered, her pink glossy lips pouting.

“I pushed her,” Mystique supplied with a gleam.

Logan could only look on at Rogue in further surprise; every minute that passed confirmed he had no idea who the young woman was before him.

“I had said I’d wanted to get your attention.”

“How could you survive that?” Pete voiced in both concern and awe.

“I’m adaptive,” Rogue replied tightly.

“Why did you take one of the Professor’s books?” Storm asked and Logan recognized the effort she was making to remain neutral and calm about the strange situation.

“It was of no importance, just something to tie you to us, make you curious so you would accept my invitation.”

“Invitation?” Bobby blurted out in disbelief. “You blackmailed us into coming saying you were threatening Rogue.”

He opened his mouth again but Mystique interrupted with an annoyed glare. “We aren’t getting down to the business that needs to be attended to.” She paused a moment. “Rogue fell out of a plane, she got your attention and now I need you to listen.”

“Lady, you are crazy,” Jubilee inserted.

Mystique continued on. “Rogue has a few new powers, that’s enough for now. If she wanted to tell you more about herself she would have shown up at your door a long time ago.”

“But since that’s not the case...” she trailed off, taking delight in their silence.

“Mystique,” Storm spoke up. “Nothing you say is going to make anything better. We do not trust you and...” she paused as she glanced at Rogue in weary concern, her tone lighter. “And I’m sorry to say but we can’t afford to trust you either, Rogue.”

“That’s okay,” Rogue replied off-hand as she sat down on a large rock.

“I have no small army to amass in these woods to attack you. I have no resources for such a thing. I have no will but my own, I am not Brotherhood. I am mutant kind. Allow me at least a few minutes to explain to you what Rogue and I have both learned that could be very consequential to our kind. There’s a reason we’re in the middle of nowhere. There are things going behind the scenes in the government that you have no idea about.”

Storm frowned and Logan could tell she was seriously considering her words. He kept silent, he didn’t care if she was telling the truth or not, his concern was on the young woman who remained half in shadows, distant and quiet.

“And when did you become a concerned citizen?” he asked Mystique in disbelief.

“Look,” Mystique stressed. “Rogue and I could have handled it ourselves but even I can admit we need more assistance on this one. Is that what you want to hear, Wolverine, me begging you to do the right thing...”

He interrupted her with a snort. “You wouldn’t know the right thing if it walked up and smacked you in the face with a sledgehammer.”

Her lips clenched together. “Maybe he wants to hear you beg, Rogue,” she directed over her shoulder in amusement.

If Rogue had a reaction he couldn’t see it in the darkness she was blending so well in.

“Ask him to play your hero...”

He was about to yell at her again when Rogue’s tired voice spoke up.

“Leave it alone, Raven, if they don’t care then they don’t care.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right, Rogue, if they’re not interested, we’ll try and handle it ourselves.”

Even Mystique’s frown was a sly one as she turned to leave.

“Wait,” Storm called out.

He saw the hesitation in their leader’s eyes but he knew the answer already, they were the X-Men, this wasn’t the kind of thing they turned down just because of personal differences. Mystique paused and glanced back at Storm, but Rogue, Rogue he could tell hadn’t moved. He knew they’d just been set up.

It was to be expected. Mystique knew how they worked as a team, after years of being at war and Rogue, she had been one of them, had lived with them, she knew what played on their conscience as the supposed ‘good guys’.

“Yes?” the knowing blue bitch smiled.

Storm hesitated again and she looked at him, her eyes relaying the message that she knew they were caught. He nodded back. “Let us hear you out first, about this problem and then...” she paused as she glanced at her fellow silent teammates waiting for her command. “Then will decide where to go from there.”

“Fair enough.”

Rogue stepped into the light again, her face blank but her eyes were alert as she scanned the standing X-Men, the tiny curl of her lips showed dissatisfaction. He wondered when she’d become such a bitch. It was an art to be a bitch and have to utter only a few words. Rogue he could tell had the skill down pat.

“Have you heard of the sentinel project?” Mystique asked seriously.

“Just rumours,” Storm replied. “The President didn’t allow the funding to go through since he refused to pass the Mutant Registration Act.”

“That’s correct but,” she paused her eyes landing on Logan. “It should be familiar grounds for some of you to know that things in the government aren’t always what they seem.”

“Meaning?” he growled out with impatience.

“The project has found funding elsewhere,” Rogue spoke up. “What did you expect after Alcatraz? People are afraid.”

“Graydon Creed is behind it,” Mystique added.

“The man running for a senate seat?” Storm asked in surprise.

“I think he’d be best known for creating the Friends of Humanity,” Rogue added darkly.

“Friends of Humanity are just a bunch of renegades,” Bobby spoke up. “No one’s taken credit for it, they’re just a bunch of mutant haters.”

“Graydon is waiting to attain his senate seat before going public with his involvement. After that he hopes to sway more people into reducing mutant’s rights with the more power he gains.”

“How do you know this?” Logan barked.

“When I was impersonating Senator Kelly I learned a lot of useful information of what was occurring behind the scenes and those on the rise. While, Graydon owns his own small corporation he does not have enough funds himself to kick start the sentinel project. He acquires them through his Friends of Humanity supporters and at the same time he gains more support in his hate cause.”

Storm nodded once affirming her understanding. “And what do you want us to do, go after Graydon?”

A sharp sound shattered around them as Rogue laughed suddenly and Mystique sent her an abrupt stare. Rogue rolled her eyes and bit her bottom lip as she stopped laughing. Her prickly sound disappeared but the bitter after taste of mockery hung in the air.

Storm frowned at her reaction but continued on, “As the X-Men we can’t do that, especially so publicly.”

“Obviously,” Mystique agreed. “Which is why I’m not suggesting that. I’m suggesting we destroy the sentinel project before it grows and then you can expose Graydon and the Friends of Humanity and their hate agenda. Perhaps, gain us some more support. Some much needed support after Alcatraz.”

“That almost makes sense,” Jubilee spoke up, but she was still scowling at the blue mutant.

“Yes,” Storm added. “I don’t know if I should be concerned at such a well thought out plan from someone who was a part of the Brotherhood.”

Rogue’s lips twitched into a surprised smirk at the subtle dig Storm had directed at Mystique and it did not go unnoticed by Logan.

“What’s the catch?” Logan spoke up.

“No catch.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Does it really matter?” Rogue spoke up with sudden authority. “We’re not lying about this, so you’re either in or you’re out.”

“Take a moment to think about it,” Mystique added.

“We can take you to Graydon’s headquaters tomorrow and you can check out everything before we make a move. I want you to feel secure in your decision.”

Jubilee snorted. “Yeah thanks for your concern.”

Mystique ignored her. “If you decide yes, then we must stay here as a group for the night. Graydon has people looking for us and we don’t need the added trouble if the job is to be done right.”

“Gives us a minute,” Storm replied as she turned and the others followed her up the ramp.

“Whatever you need,” Mystique replied and Logan could already pick up on the satisfaction in her voice.

Logan kept his eye on Rogue as both her and Mystique stepped off to the side and began whispering.

“Logan,” Storm called after him.

With a snarl he followed up the ramp.

“Why do I get the feeling everything isn’t as it seems?” Bobby spoke up.

“Because it isn’t,” Storm replied. “But what they did provide us with doesn’t seem all that far off. Hank himself, already expressed concerns about whispers in the government about private funding.”

Logan was quiet as he listened. He was in agreement that what they’d just heard was plausible. Hank was back at the school watching over the children so there was no one else to voice any further concerns. It was what was being left out that was bugging him.

“So are we staying then?” Kitty asked.

“For now,” Storm replied and Logan knew she hated the position she’d been put in. “Jubilee, Bobby and Kitty start setting up camp.”

The three of them nodded and started moving around the jet for supplies.

“Pete you okay with doing a perimeter check?”

He nodded.

“Not too far,” she added.

The four X-Men descended the Jet and Logan glanced out at the dark night. Storm approached him slowly.

“What do you think?” she asked with a sigh.

“I honestly don’t know.”

She nodded and paused for a moment. “What about Rogue?” she asked hesitantly. “She...”

“Has another agenda,” he replied gruffly. “I never thought she’d be working with Mystique of all people.”

“She must have good reasons, Logan,” she responded quietly. “Rogue always did things with purpose.”

He nodded.

“Do you think she would purposely put us in danger?”

Logan turned and looked at her and Storm appeared ashamed that she’d asked but he knew she was as confused as the rest of them.

“If you’re asking if I think she’s one of the bad guys then...” he paused. “No. “

Storm let out a sigh. “I couldn’t see her being Brotherhood...”

“I could,” he interrupted and ignored her surprise. “If Magneto had gotten to her first while she was a runaway, if maybe he hadn’t had his machine but simply wanted her as a follower, she may have agreed. She didn’t have it easy, ‘Ro.”

“Hell,” he barked. “Maybe I would have joined if things had been different.”

“Logan,” she began after a moment or two. “Maybe that’s true, maybe all of us may have gone that way if things had been different but eventually the both of you would have realized Magneto was wrong. His price was too much.”

“And Xavier’s,” he began thinking of Jean and Scott. “What about the cost of his dream?”

She was at a loss for words.

“The only reason I even became an X-Men,” he spoke quietly. “Was because of her.”

Storm watched Rogue in the distance with a small sad smile.

“And now?”

He turned and looked at her, pretended not to notice the unshed tears in her eyes and gave her a gruff smirk.

“We’re the good guys.”

She smiled at him.

Walking down the ramp he turned back up to face her, his face hard. “She’s a liar though, ‘Ro,” he spoke seriously, his eyes nodding at Rogue in the distance. “That’s what I would be concerned about, but more than that she’s smarter than just a liar, she’s a manipulator, every move, every word and expression, it’s just a game, ‘Ro. She ain’t showing you the real thing.”

Storm’s expression was taken back but she nodded with understanding.

“She’s called Rogue for a reason,” he called over his shoulder as he moved through the few tents that were already up.

Walking by the fire Kitty and Jubilee had made Logan ignored them but he could hear their conversation perfectly.

Kitty was glaring in the direction of Rogue and Mystique where they stood off to the side still talking.

“I don’t trust her,” Kitty snapped.

Jubilee looked up at her in surprise. “I’d be worried if you did trust Mystique.”

Kitty shook her head. “I mean Rogue.”

Jubilee’s eyes opened wide in surprise before narrowing, her tone harder than usual as she spoke, “Yeah well she learned a long time ago not to trust you, so what does it matter, seems like its common ground if you ask me.”

Kitty’s jaw dropped in surprise. Logan watched out of the corner of his eye as she stuttered for words.

“I’m with Pete now,” she gasped out.

Jubilee rolled her eyes. “Nice, Kitty that just erases what you and Bobby did. I’m sure it does in Rogue’s mind.”

“We never did anything,” she responded indignantly.

Jubilee laughed lightly. “Maybe you didn’t physically cheat but you both knew what you were doing.”

Kitty huffed and stood up, her mouth catching flies. “How dare...” she spotted and fumed. “That doesn’t matter Jubes, she’s working with the enemy, isn’t that enough to not trust her.”

Jubilee poked at the fire with a stick. “I trust Rogue feels that whatever she’s doing is what she considers is the best way.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Kitty yelled.

“It means,” Logan interrupted and Kitty jumped in surprise. “You should go and fix those two tents over there that you did such a shitty job putting up because you were gossiping.”

Kitty scowled at him but silently turned on her heel and walked away quickly, her pony tail bouncing haughtily behind her.

Jubilee watched him quietly. He gave her a wolf like smile and she smiled back at him.

They weren’t all whiny brats he concluded.

Walking over towards his tent he paused as Mystique glided towards him with swaying hips out of the woods.

“I see you’ve agreed then.”

He nodded. “Talk to Storm if you need anything,” he ground out.

She smirked at him.

“Stay in your own damn tent this time,” he warned with an added dark glare.

Tilting her head to the side she observed him in sly amusement. “Of course,” she responded morphing into Rogue right in front of him. “You sure that’s what you really want though?”

He was stunned into silence at her tactic.

She laughed at him, a sweet sugary laugh bubbling out of familiar lips he had dreams about. The laugh was a little too cold and harsh though, it only added to the fact he knew it wasn’t the real thing.

“You’ve gotten even worse at hiding the way you look at her when you think no one is paying attention.”

He growled at her in warning.

“Stop messing around you blue bitch!”

She laughed again and morphed back into her true self.

“A word of advice Wolverine, Rogues don’t love, so stop watching her like you see a future because you don’t know her. The most you’d get is a few mind blowing tumbles in the sack, but I could help you in that area...sugah,” she finished with a drawl in Rogue’s familiar accent. “I could give you skin on skin.”

Abruptly, he reached for her, his hand locking around her throat as he held his claws up to her face. “You’ve already given us the required information, no need to keep you around and believe me nobody would miss you,” he snarled in her face but his voice was a deadly whisper.

“And I could always give you matching scars,” he finished by dragging the cool metal across her cheek.

She smiled at him but didn’t struggle. “Maybe I’m just looking out for you Wolverine.”

He pushed her away with disdain. “Just look out for yourself,” he snapped back as he walked away.

Walking a little deeper into the woods he leaned against a tree with a heavy sigh, if he didn’t know any better he’d think he was getting a headache. Turning around he glanced back at the camp and watched as a still fuming Kitty was being comforted by a confused Pete. Bobby and Jubilee sat far across from one another around the fire. She never had forgiven him easily for his and Kitty’s flirtation. Jubilee had honour that way and he supposed in Rogue’s eyes it didn’t help that he’d stood up there in his X-Men suit beside both Kitty and Bobby as though he had chosen them over her because he remembered a long time ago Rogue telling him that despite what he felt were short comings he was an honourable man.

The truth was after he found out Rogue was gone; after he’d gotten his head out of his ass it was too late. He was too late in finding out about Kitty and Bobby. Too late in finding out Rogue had dumped Bobby. It was almost funny thinking back on it but both Bobby and Kitty had walked around him on eggshells, waiting for him to explode on them but the truth was he was indifferent because he blamed himself. He was the one who should have been there for her and he hadn’t been. And he just knew without being told that she blamed him too. He was the only one she’d ever depended on.

Movement on the other side of the woods caught his attention as he saw Rogue wandering through the forest. He was the reason there was such a distance between them now.

Sitting down at the edge of the stream Rogue glanced down at her watery reflection that rippled in the streaming moonlight. Pulling her knees up she rested her chin absently on them as she sighed thoughtfully. It was a still and warm night and she was far enough away that the cooling down ticking of the jet’s engine was a distant hum. Leaning back she pulled off one of her gloves as she proceeded to reach forward and trail her bare hand through the cool water. Her movements caused her reflection to ripple even further and she waited in vain for it to settle once more but her watery reflection continued to stare up at her in pieces. She was as displaced in the water as much as she was inside herself. A Rogue was many things, her mutation guaranteed that.

Leaning back against a tree she moved her gaze outward realizing with sudden disdain she was becoming thoughtful. She needed a moment to prepare for the next round of confrontation between her and the X-Men. Sometimes being stone cold and sarcastic came more easily to her each day but sometimes, when she had a moment to herself she could feel the familiar trickles of those things Mystique hated so much, ‘feelings’.

Because as much as she may harbor certain judgemental feelings towards the X-Men and as easy as it was to pick on them and their holier than now heroic tendencies, she’d been one of them but more importantly a few of them she’d considered to be her friends and maybe even family once. But those times felt like a life time ago, she wasn’t the same young woman who believed in hopeful ideals, who would look to Storm for friendly advice, or who would have sleepovers with Jubilee and Kitty, such things didn’t exist in her world anymore and she told herself everyday she liked it that way. She didn’t need anyone’s advice. She didn’t have time for childish sleepovers. The X-Men may run around in their fancy jet and their leather suits, but they were soft, too soft for the likes of her.

Softness gets people killed. She frowned and looked away from the bright moon. This wasn’t the time to think about those she’d known, perhaps even cared for, that were now lost.

Which is exactly why, it hadn’t been all that hard to smirk at the way Bobby and Kitty followed Storm around like lemmings. That the younger ones were still regulated to having to put the camp up. She was no rookie. The past year had guaranteed that.

She didn’t belong in their world. Their simple black and white world.

She may have felt that way before, a small feeling that maybe she wasn’t perfect enough for Xavier’s kind but then there’d always been Logan. He’d always been there in some form to remind her there was, no, had been someone she could relate to, who knew what it was to be an outsider in the world of outsiders. Looks like he learned to fit in, she thought bitterly.

It wasn’t as hard as she thought to keep her mask on most of all around Logan; in fact it came far more easily to her than she’d thought it would. Gone were the nerves she use to feel in making sure she appeared mature enough in his eyes. No spike of hopeful want building in the pit of her stomach. Maybe they hadn’t really known each other as well as she’d thought. Perhaps that’s why it had been so easy to slip away in the end.

“Are you certain this is what you truly wish to do?” Storm asked calmly, her gaze watchful behind Xavier’s old desk.

Rogue crossed one leg over the other as her eyes briefly drifted up through the window where she could see the three grave stones in the distance. Her bare fingers were absently tapping her thigh lightly.

“I haven’t had the opportunity to make many decisions for myself in my life,” she began softly. “When I finally begin to do it, suddenly people think I’m less of myself then I ever was.”

“I understand what you’re saying Rogue, but I don’t necessarily believe you should hold such views against those here at Xavier’s and...”

“Does it really matter what you believe?”

Storm looked up at her sharply.

Rogue sighed at the look of shock and cast her eyes downward for a moment.

“I only mean to say, Xavier believed in a world of freedom and that means just as much to me to be able to make my own decisions. You may understand why I want to leave but even you, Storm, didn’t understand my need to take the cure.”

Storm frowned and glanced down at her desk. “I don’t think less of you Rogue.”

“Don’t lie,” Rogue interrupted fiercely. “If you’re going to be running this school Storm you’re either going to have to learn how to tell the truth better or become an exceptional liar.”

The other woman watched her carefully, her eyes widening at the tone of her voice. Rogue waited for the consequences of being so up front but Storm sighed lightly before speaking again in a much quieter tone.

“I may not understand Rogue, that is true but it doesn’t mean I care any less about you. Being an X-Men isn’t just about being teammates, I consider you a friend and as your friend I am sorry for my ignorance to your decisions.” She finished with a sad smile.

Rogue let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and relaxed a little more in her seat.

“Thank you,” she whispered back.

Storm nodded and leaned over the desk with more directness. “You will forever be welcome here, Rogue.”

Rogue’s lips twitched in morbid amusement. “I believe that coming from you Storm, I really do but there is a difference between being welcome and belonging. I just don’t belong here anymore.”

Storm sighed in what Rogue could tell was defeat and regret. There were already a few fine lines forming around Storm’s eyes and forehead, the stress of the past three months becoming physical reminders.

“I know you’ve been having some problems with some people here.”

Rogue snorted and glanced back out of the window.

“I know you and Bobby...”

“I broke up with him and believe me I wasn’t heartbroken and neither was he.”

Storm pursed her lips and Rogue could tell she was thinking over her next words carefully.

“Yes, I do believe you never truly loved each other that way but his and Kitty’s,” she paused. “Flirtations must have caused you some pain.”

Rogue reached forward and played with the antique clock on the big oak desk. “If you mean once again I was hurt by those I trusted then I suppose yes, it caused me,” she paused and looked up at Storm with a smirk that she knew made the other woman uncomfortable. “Discomfort, then yes, you may be right.”

Storm nodded again and leaned back in her seat. “Is running away always going to be the answer, Rogue?” she asked with open honesty.

Rogue frowned briefly but nodded slowly to herself before answering. “It ain’t running when you’re only trying to stay a step ahead.”

“A step ahead of what?”

Rogue shrugged but Storm appeared to answer her own question.

“If you only ever let people hurt you but never let them rebuild what you had once, that isn’t a way to live.”

“Fool me once, ‘Ro...” she murmured.

“I’m not saying you should allow people to walk over you, Rogue and you know that. I’m just saying in this case, you have a family here and family isn’t always perfect, it needs work on both parts.”

Rogue leaned back and eyed Storm for a moment. She could tell the other woman felt the truth to her words but it didn’t satisfy anything inside of her.

“I just think I need to find my own way,” she spoke confidently.

“Haven’t you been doing that since you found out you were a mutant?”

“Ah, but I’m not a mutant anymore,” she smirked at the shock on Storm’s face as she realized her mistake. “Maybe I just need a fresh start.”

Leaning over her desk again, Storm glanced at the papers in front of her. “I can see you’ve already made your decision.”

Rogue was quiet, as she found herself surprised by the other woman’s apparent grief over her decision, she hadn’t been expecting it but it didn’t change anything for her.

She was doing this for herself.

“If you sign these papers, a single bedroom apartment in the city will be yours,” Storm spoke with focus as she pushed the papers forward.

Reaching forward Rogue signed them.

“I assume you’ve handled your applications to the university.”

Rogue nodded as she finished signing.

“Thank you, ‘Ro.”

“Yes, well,” Storm muttered as she shuffled the papers together. “The Professor had wanted to make sure you would have a future ahead of you, whatever that may be and since you will not be staying here and taking over as part owner, it only seems appropriate to make sure you are prepared for the outside world.”

Rogue pretended to ignore the slight crack in the other woman’s voice at the Professor’s name. Standing up she made her way towards the door.

“Good bye,” she spoke up over her shoulder.

Storm didn’t reply immediately and she paused to glance back.

“Isn’t a bit cowardly to be slipping out when he isn’t here?”

Rogue’s hand slipped on the door handle.

“Even when he’s here, he isn’t here, ‘Ro you know that.”

Storm’s face fell and for a moment Rogue felt sorry for her as it was apparent she had a large weight on her shoulders.

“He does his best.”

Rogue’s gaze turned dark as she glanced back at the door.

“Yes, well I’m sure he’ll be fine here with you all.” With his own kind she kept to herself.

“He isn’t fine, Rogue and he’ll be less fine when he finds out.”

“That isn’t true, ‘Ro,” she began. “Eventually he’ll be back to busting the heads of the bad guys, you guys gave him the perfect career.”

Storm suddenly looked her straight in the eye. “Are you really so blind to how important you are in making him feel a part of this place?”

“I ain’t a part of this place anymore and he hasn’t spoken to me in some time, so honestly ‘Ro I don’t know how I could be blind to someone I never even see to begin with.”
She turned and finally pulled the door open.

“Good bye Rogue,” Storm whispered as though somehow defeated. “You’ll always have a place here.”

Rogue shut the door quietly and kept moving forward.

Ever since then she’d been moving forward, never looking back.

And Storm had been so very wrong; Logan had done just fine without her, she could see that with her very own eyes tonight. He’d found his place, standing with his fellow X-men in all their leather glory.

If she was still a romantic, if she was still several decades younger in her mind’s eye perhaps she would have raged against the act of fate and how unpredictable it was because really, if she was honest with herself, a long time ago she’d thought her and Logan had been on the same path, that the day he’d let her into her truck and saved her life in more ways than one she’d finally felt that feeling of belonging. A hopeless romantic she was not anymore. Belonging meant wanting and wanting meant pining away like a hopeless teenager who’d seen the edge of the world but still came back and being that girl meant she was weak and she’d learned since her time out in the real world, that being weak, that being afraid was something a girl had to keep close to her heart and away from the eyes of the world if she wanted to survive.

She could hear familiar footsteps approaching behind her but she didn’t move. Acknowledging him meant too many things, things she wasn’t willing to show.

She could survive. She’d done it time and time again. She could survive this. She could survive his confrontation because she was Rogue with the heart of stone. Her skin was no longer the only thing that kept people away. She’d been extensively educated by some of the finest in the powerful sharp weapons of the English language and even a few others.

So here she was waiting to throw her knives, because she wasn’t going to let him open up any old wounds. She wasn’t going to let him walk back into her world, only to leave again. He didn’t get to run the show anymore and he was about to find out how strong she was.

The strongest thing she’d ever done was give up on him and her feelings. She wasn’t going back to being fragile again.

She’d adapted like him, like the Wolverine; throw all the hate and anger at her and she’d do one better than just heal any second later, she was invulnerable, impervious; she didn’t need to fall out of a plane to prove it.

“Rogue,” he called from the shadows behind her, his voice rough.

She smiled to herself. It was already her playing field, he’d known enough to call her Rogue, which meant he was unsure of how to play this out with her.

Standing up, she slowly put her glove back on and glanced over her shoulder at his dark figure.

“Logan,” she responded back, her tone light and calm. Twirling around slowly, she eyed him as he stepped out into the moonlight across from her. “Shouldn’t you be back at camp?”

The glare on his face that was part frown, she could already tell was going to be standard throughout their conversation.

He didn’t respond and she hid the twitching of her lips by glancing back out at the stream.

“Yes, well to be honest I was actually expecting you sooner but I suppose you had X-Men business to attend to first.”

He stepped closer and she felt the smile leave her face as she felt his over-whelming presence behind her. His silence did un-nerve her but she kept her spine relaxed as she waited.

“You want to tell me what’s going on?” he growled out.

“I think Mystique already covered the plans,” she let out with an impatient sigh. “I’m sure she’d be willing to take any of your questions.”

“Bullshit, Marie,” he spat. “You and I both know I’m not talking about business, even if I know you’re leaving something out.”

She blinked twice and realized it had been too hopeful to think he wouldn’t notice.

“I want to know what the hell is going on with you,” he spoke up again, his voice harsh as the words grated through his clenched teeth. He was angry.

She turned around to face him again and she was glad for the dimming moonlight as she felt the shadows hide half of her face.

“You’re going to have to be a bit more specific.”

His gaze snapped at her sharply, with even more focus if possible.

“Oh I didn’t realize I needed a list,” he snapped but his tone was surprisingly sarcastic. “How about you taking off and leaving without telling me, without a goodbye!”

He was yelling now, his tone still deep and low but his voice was rising and she noticed he was straining to keep his fists clenched.

“Leaving behind a cold trail, which means you were running! Running away, why?!”

She remained silent, feeling the heat of his words building like a tidal wave as the light in his eyes became almost golden.

“And then never coming back, never even a phone call to know you were alright, or what the hell was going on with you after the cure had worn off, after the government admitting it had been a mistake?!”

“And you know Rogue,” he paused to drag out her name like it fumbled around in his mouth like broken glass. “I definitely would like to know what you’re doing with Mystique, why the hell you were able to survive falling from a plane, and even what you’re keeping back about this job but to be fucking honest with you I’d like to know how I’d gain such a low status in your life that you thought it was okay to just drop me, like you were the only one in this relationship who gets to decide!” he finished with a heaving breath.

There were only a few seconds Rogue had to adapt to the fact that while Logan had said most of the things she’d been expecting, there were a few words and expressions on his face that threw her off and she couldn’t show that, she couldn’t pause and reflect what that meant because that be just slipping into bad habits again.

So instead of widening her eyes and showing a glimpse of shock, she counted to five and licked her lips slowly before stepping forward.

“Well now, I just don’t know where to start,” she retorted and the sarcasm was well evident.

He blinked quickly and in a flash she could see the rising fire in him of hot white anger that was held back barely with open disbelief.

“Rogue, how about we start with the fucking beginning and you leaving with...”

“Really, Logan,” she interrupted with a hard edge to her voice, the calm sarcasm gone. “Let’s not pretend I ran away like some ghost in the night. Give me a little more credit.”

“You can’t call it running away when you’re not around to see, because then Logan,” she paused tightly. “I just call that leaving, I call it living my life and I didn’t need your permission to decide where my place in the world was going to be.”

“And really, if I had of known when you would’ve been around or sober or even talking to people I would have maybe been able to have given you that goodbye but you were locked away in your room even when you were around and I learned after the second time, well enough to know you didn’t want to be disturbed.”

She could feel the trickle of emotion flow out with her words but she felt it was needed, that evidently it was even cathartic for her but she made sure that her anger didn’t spill over into the feeling of betrayal, because that would mean just too much to give up.

The hard set of his scruffy jaw let her know her words had an effect of silence on him and the thin set of his lips let her know he was still angry, but the change in his eyes let her realize she didn’t have to tell him anything more, he knew enough, he knew she was right and maybe she saw regret in his eyes but she wasn’t willing to look any closer.

But she couldn’t help it as the words spilled out of her mouth. “Don’t tell me I made the decision all by myself Logan, to be correct, you had made it for me. You made it all the more easier. Your months of silence made it clear that I wasn’t a part of your world anymore and I wasn’t a part of the mutant world either. So don’t call it running when I’d already been given several pushes out the door.”
She glanced at the ground briefly, pretending she’d said the words to hurt him and that they weren’t out of spite or pain.

“I messed up,” he muttered and his voice was gruff. It was only three little words and somehow he made them sound so broken.

She glanced back up at him but she stared into the night past his right ear, refusing to look him in the eye, she didn’t want to see the emotion there, she didn’t want to feel it either.

She was about to reply when he surprised her not only with his words but his tone. He was suddenly angry again.

“I fucked up, Marie; I know that but you...” he sighed almost desperately. “You didn’t even give me the chance to know you wanted another life, you just broke contact with no promise...” he trailed off and she could tell he was unnerved to use the last word. “It wasn’t fair, Rogue,” he finished more harshly.

She opened her mouth to reply but he didn’t give her the chance as he stepped closer.

“You did it all on purpose in the end, Marie, you set up a fake trail, you lied to Storm and you just took off, that’s running away.” An almost feral smirk developed on his face that heightened his anger. “You just didn’t want to face any old problems, you just couldn’t wait to get away and start new ones. Repeating the pattern over and over. How many other people did you leave along in the dust? I stayed around Rogue. I waited and it just didn’t seem to matter because you don’t play by the same kind of rules.”

The glare on her face was very real as she directed it at him but a quick curl of her lips and she had an almost ridiculous smile on her face even if she felt differently on the inside.

“What does it matter, Logan?” she asked with a laugh in her voice. “What if I did run away? I don’t care. Do I need to spell it out for you? I know exactly what I did to get away Logan and if you’re waiting for me to say I regret it, then you’ll be waiting a very long time for that particular train that won’t be coming.”

He snorted at her and shook his head.

“I can only imagine the type of person you’ve become hanging out with Mystique of all people.”

“Well, originally I looked up Magneto but it turned out he wasn’t in the phone book.”

His eyes hardened immediately but his jaw loosened.

“Well I suppose that would be the ultimate betrayal and you never do anything half way, do you?”

She was forced to look away from him as she could see the treachery in his eyes. She honestly didn’t want to be that much of a bitch. She didn’t want him to think she was ungrateful for what he had done when Magneto had almost killed her.

She openly sighed and relaxed her posture.

“I wouldn’t do that Logan. The man did almost succeed in killing me. I know how much that cost you.”

“It didn’t cost me anything,” he snapped.

She nodded and folded her arms as she realized she’d let out a mental sigh, glad to know he didn’t regret it either.

“But Mystique, Rogue?” he spoke up. “She was a part of it, she...”

“I know what she did,” she snapped back with determination. “I’m not stupid.”

“No, I know that. Which makes me wonder why?”

“Things aren’t always as clear as we wish them to be and sometimes you have to make compromises and sacrifices along the way.”

He was watching her intently and she tried to keep the beat of her heart still.

“Why would you go to her and not us?” he demanded.

She shook her head with a sad smile. “There are people in this world who have things no one else could possibly give them and sometimes those opportunities present themselves and we do what we have to do to survive.”

His observation of her was starting to throw her off so abruptly, the almost familiar smile on her face disappeared and she glanced back at him blankly.

He almost stepped back in shock but he just shook his head at her.

“I don’t understand.”

“And you probably never will,” she supplied, succeeding in sounding almost bored.

He clenched his fist again. “You’re not like her, Rogue,” he stated fiercely.

She laughed heartlessly. “You have no idea.”

“Just stop,” he snapped. “You honestly want me to believe you’re like her, that you’re a selfish bitch who would turn at the flip of the coin. That you don’t care about people, who get caught along the way in your games, that...”

She interrupted him with a yell. “You don’t know me anymore Logan and you hardly did before.”

“I knew you,” he hissed through his teeth. “And I know parts of you now, I know what you’re doing, you’re just trying to run again. Mystique is not your people, Marie...she..”

“She’s my mother, Logan!” she yelled back, with a knowing smile on her face at the surprise on his. She may have felt something shatter inside of her at telling him and in seeing the shock on his face but it only motivated her further to tell him he had no place in deciding who she was.

“What?” he gasped and leant back with confusion settling in as well.

“You heard me,” she shot back with defiance. “I’m more her ‘people’ then you think.”

“You’re lying!” he directed back at her with a glare.

“This is just another one of your ploys.”

“You can tell when I’m lying, Logan.”

“It’s not possible,” he seethed more to himself.

“I’ve found a lot of things are possible in the last year or so.”

He looked up at her sharply as she saw the focus bleed back into his eyes.

“So you didn’t know then, you found out recently,” he spoke more as a statement.

She nodded.

“Then how do you know she’s telling the truth?”

“Look, Logan, you can fight this all you want but she’s my mother and obviously you can’t accept...”

“Oh no,” he interrupted harshly. “I’ll accept it. I’ll accept it because I can tell it cost you something telling me that.”

She flinched back and hated herself for it.

“But even if that’s so, do you really think that’s just going to let me excuse this farce you call of being a person. You’re not her Marie. Blood or no blood. It’s a damn simple fact and I don’t want to see you hiding behind it.”

The continued disgust she’d been planning on from him with her little revelation was non-apparent and even as she frowned thinking of another tactic she could feel that fluttering in her stomach that told her forgotten hope was making an effort at a comeback. Clamping it down, she looked him dead in the eye.

“I’m not the same person, Logan, I’m probably not even a sane person, my mutation kind of guarantees that.”

“Stop looking for any logic,” she added.

He glared at her and took a step back as his arms finally relaxed at his sides. She could see he’d suddenly come to some form of a decision.

“Bullshit,” he muttered the single word as if it explained everything.

He turned around as though he was about to leave but he eventually turned back.

“Fine, Rogue,” he emphasized her name again. “If you want it to be just business, that’s the way it can be.” He eyed her and she felt her trademark smirk slipping back on her face but he added,” For now.”

It sounded like a promise.

She shrugged her shoulders. His other promise hadn’t worked out all that well so she figured she had nothing to be too concerned about.

“I believe you about Graydon and the FOH but don’t think I’m just going to think your little stunt this morning was just to get our attention.”

“It worked, didn’t it?” she replied with another shrug.

“You were looking for a particular book,” he continued. “Why was it so important?”

“It was nothing of importance,” she responded flippantly.

“If it wasn’t important, give it back then.”

“I dropped it when I was flying away.” She smirked back at him.

“Liar,” he breathed.

“Alright,” she muttered and pretended to pick at the bark on the tree beside her. “Xavier had known about early plans for the government programs and he kept a record of them in a journal of his. It was just early plans for the sentinel program.”

He sniffed the air and tilted his head.

“You’re lying,” he responded. “And if Xavier would have kept files on that, he would have told the X-Men and...”

“He failed to tell you a lot of things.”

Logan clenched his jaw. His silence confirming he agreed with her.

“Why did you say you had a right to it, that Xavier...”

“Okay, the truth?” she spoke up and continued in one breath. “It was a book full of prophecies and is essential in decoding other prophecies.”

He glanced at her for a moment and finally narrowed his eyes at her again.

“You think I’m an idiot, Rogue,” he exclaimed. “Is it impossible for you to be just straight with anyone?”

She dropped her jaw and looked at him in amused surprise.

“Logan, I am telling...”

His head whipped around towards the left suddenly and he held his hand up as she noticed his nostrils flaring as he focused outwards in the dark of the night.

Scrunching her face up in confusion she was about to throw a crass remark his way but she noticed the tautness to his body and recognized the signs of a possible attack. They weren’t alone.

She eyed the darkness in vain, knowing no matter how many times Logan had given her his power in the past she had nowhere near as good senses as he did. So she did the sensible thing and remained quiet.

Logan growled loudly and Rogue recognized it as a warning.

“You might as well come out,” he yelled out into the night.

When nothing moved between the shadowed trees she whispered low, “How many?”

“One,” he breathed back without turning his back. “But I don’t know why he’s still hiding.”

Rogue swallowed dryly at the knowledge that there was only one man in the forest who had somehow found them in the middle of nowhere. There were only a few possible candidates, which meant things were about to become complicated, even more so.

She spotted the red eyes moving forward through the trees and knew she was in trouble.

“Sorry mon ami but Gambit wasn’t too fond of interrupting such a heart to heart,” the familiar voice called out through the dark. “Especially when Gambit never seen da Rogue so flushed.”

She scowled at him as he stepped into the moonlight across from her and Logan.

“I never knew you to have such manners,” she responded back in annoyance.

Remy smirked at her and the action only emphasized his sleek high cheek bones that did wonders for his face. He was a very handsome man and while she found herself enjoying the image he presented, his actual personality and smugness only irritated her.

He tilted his head with a small nod knowingly at her as he stood straight and with a fair distance between him and Logan who was eyeing Gambit with open hostility.

Remy twirled his bow staff absently in his hands as he ideally watched them.

Logan snarled at him and looked back at her in alarm. “You know this stalker?” he asked with incredulity, by jerking his thumb at Gambit.

Rogue stepped closer and propped her hand on her hip.

“Stalker, such an appropriate word,” she muttered through clenched teeth and raised one eyebrow at the still relaxed Gambit.

“Oh Chere,” he chuckled with his familiar husky voice. “Don’t say such cruel things, not when Remy,” he stopped twirling the staff and pointed it at her as his glowing red eyes roved over her body from head to toe. “Know you so intimately.”

She rolled her eyes.

Logan, she could tell had the oddest expression on his face as though he didn’t like the implications of Remy’s words and specifically his tone.

“What the hell are you doing here, Remy?” she voiced, wondering how he had found her this time. “Didn’t you cause enough trouble, blowing up the bar?”

“Now, it ain’t dis thief’s fault you’ve been hiding so much Rogue,” he spoke softly with amusement as he proceeded to twirl his staff around.

“How do you two know each other?” Logan blurted out suddenly and his tone told her he was starting to lose what little patience he had quickly.

Remy only continued to smirk at her, his gaze moving past Logan and he winked at her.

She snorted indelicately and folded her arms.

“He would be the consequences of a one night stand.”

Logan for his part appeared openly taken back before his expression morphed quickly from a frown to a glare.

“Tsk, tsk,” Remy started. “It was more dan once Cherie, if Remy recall several...”

“Several mistakes,” she finished.

He raised the bow staff behind his head and rested it across his shoulders.

“Dhey’re only mistakes now because we’re both playing on da other side of da road,” he spoke softly, almost ignoring Logan who was surprisingly silent. “Things don’t have to be dat way, if you’d only reconsider.”

“Fuck off, Remy,” she spat. “You’re the one selling your soul and I won’t let you drag me down with you.”

His red eyes narrowed but instead of anger he looked resigned.

“You always were a stubborn one,” he muttered.

“You’re selling out your own kind.”

He lifted his clean shaven chin at her. “And who exactly are you fighting for dese days?” he asked and his red eyes glanced at Logan. “Remy sure he ain’t da only one who wants to know.”

Logan finally stepped closer and the claws on his right knuckle slid out silently but still gleamed in the night threateningly.

“What do you want Cajun?” he hissed.

Remy tilted his head at Logan. “You mean she hasn’t told you...”

“He works for Graydon,” Rogue interrupted quickly.

Remy eyed her in surprise.

Logan stepped closer towards the other mutant with his claws up. “A mutant working with mutant hating scum like that, well now I know all I need to know about you, bub,” he snarled low.

“Then you ain’t seeing da big picture,” Remy replied slowly.

“You’re a traitor!” Rogue yelled at him, feeling her anger rise in being confronted with another man from her past she’d trusted only to find out she’d been wrong.

“Je suis ce que je suis,” he replied solemnly. (I am what I am)

“We can’t have him running back to Graydon, Logan,” she spoke up hurriedly. “He can’t know...”

“Don’t worry, Rogue,” Logan replied with his eyes on Remy with a predator’s smile. “I think I know of a few ways to deal with him.”

“You be mistaken mon ami, Remy ain’t planning on going anywhere.”

Rogue’s eyes widened as she recognized the serious tone in his voice. Quickly, Remy reached into his brown trench coat and pulled out an Ace of spade. He had it charged in seconds as the card glowed red.

“Logan!”

She ran forward as Remy flicked the card at Logan’s chest. She reached him just in time as she pushed him down and they both fell to the ground as the charged card exploded against a tree and pieces of bark flew around them.

She landed hard on top of Logan and he looked up at her in shock. She leaned up slowly as his chest heaved with each breath. His hand she noticed was on her butt and although it wasn’t uncomfortable, far from it, she was slightly alarmed at their rather awkward position.

“Are you alright?” she breathed in concern, her chest pushing against his as she exhaled and a shiver traveled up from the base of her spine.

“Yeah,” he grunted and she knew as he watched her, his eyes wide as she felt him observing every line of her face, she knew he’d not only been surprised by the attack but by the fact she’d been able to push him out of the way and protect him from the flying debris so easily.

Their oddly private moment was interrupted as she spotted the quick flash of sliver out of the corner of her eye and she leaned back barely in time as Remy’s staff blew by her face but ended up whacking Logan hard in the chest, who she could tell wasn’t happy about it as he grunted as the air was knocked out of him.

Jumping up Rogue grabbed the staff quickly and pulled it free from Remy’s strong grip with her super strength and pushed it forward as it hit him in the chest and then she caught him under the chin. He stumbled back in surprise and she spotted the blood around his lips where the end had cut him. Without giving him a chance she spun the staff around and aimed for his knees, but he was quick.
Adapting to his fall Remy did a sloppy back flip and was successful in landing too far for her aim to reach. He crouched low and narrowed his eyes at her; she almost thought he looked surprised and maybe even offended. He stood up quickly and wiped the blood that dribbled down his chin.

“Vous avez toujours rendre les choses plus intéressantes, elles doivent être Rogue,” he voiced with a mixture of bitterness and playfulness. (You always make things more interesting then they need to be Rogue)

She looked at him sadly for a moment. “Il n'est pas de ma faute que vous avez l'habitude de choisir le mauvais employs,” she replied solemnly. (It's not my fault you have a habit of choosing the wrong jobs.)

“But it doesn’t matter does it Remy?” she added as her voice became stronger. “Nothing matters as long as the price is right.”

“A thief’s prerogative, Chere,” he replied as he launched himself forward.

The thing with Remy was that although he was muscular, his slimmer build made him incredibly quick and agile. He was a skilled fighter and he was good at what he did. However, Rogue knew that the trick with him was to tire him out so his moves suffered poor execution.

She narrowly avoided a high kick to her head as she stepped back.

She also had her super strength, which was an advantage but there was one other advantage Remy hadn’t counted on.

The Wolverine.

Remy’s hands were quick as he attacked her but she caught him right in the jaw again with a fast punch and he stumbled back a fair amount completely dazed only to be confronted with a very pissed off Logan.

Logan spun the surprised Remy around and punched him square in the face twice. Remy stumbled again and Rogue ducked as he bumped into her and tripped. His body landed with a loud thud behind her.

He groaned but didn’t move as his eyes fluttered closed.

She glanced at Logan as he stepped closer and he nodded at her. It had almost been like team work. Like they’d just been practicing in the danger room, like old times. Only they weren’t smiling at each other now and congratulating one another.

Merely, Logan became quiet as he dragged the unconscious Remy against a tree and started to silently look around for something to tie him with. She saw him rummaging in the bushes for some long vines but she knew with Remy it would pointless.

Picking up his favourite bow staff, she knew he would be angry with her later for what she was about to do but he’d just openly attacked her and she wasn’t feeling all that giving. Using her superior strength she started to bend the staff and then gathered Remy’s hands as she finished bending the metal and wrapped it around his wrists.

Logan stood behind her and immediately dropped the vine but if he’d been surprised his presupposed scowl hid any other emotion.

Rogue shrugged. “It won’t hold him for long, he’s a thief.”

Logan grunted again at her and moved forward to pick up the beaten mutant. Quickly, he threw Remy over his shoulder and silently made his way through the trees back to camp.

“I’ll get Bobby to freeze him if he tries anything,” Logan muttered over his shoulder. “You hear that swamp rat,” he added louder and Remy groaned low as he blacked out again.

Walking through the forest after Logan and Remy, Rogue glanced up at the night and shook her head. Fate it seemed had just thrown two of her past problems together and thought it was hilarious; she on the other hand was not in agreement.

“Things just keep getting better and better,” Jubilee voiced as the surrounding X-Men observed the unconscious thief.

Logan was quiet as he finished tightening the ropes around Remy to the large tree in the middle of the camp.

Standing off to the side with her arms crossed Rogue was trying to ignore the fact that Mystique was glaring at her.

“So this man just attacked you out of nowhere?” Storm asked in concern.

Logan grunted as he stood up.

“Wow,” Bobby whistled as he leaned in and spotted the bruises forming on the thief’s face and his spilt lip.

“You really did a number on him, Wolverine.”

“I hardly touched him,” Logan replied and eyed Rogue who suddenly had to pretend all eyes weren’t on her.

“Oh...” Bobby muttered and stepped back.

“Who is he?” Storm asked.

“He works for Graydon,” Mystique spoke up. “He is an employee of his, a hired hand.”

Storm frowned at the other woman. “If you think that’s answer enough, you are wrong Mystique.”

“He’s a thief,” Rogue spoke up. “His name is Remy LeBeau and he’s also known as Gambit. He has the ability to kinetically charge objects and...” she trailed off as she eyed Remy. “He has a sort of charm, so I’d be careful in falling for everything he says.”

Kitty snorted. “That sounds familiar,” she mumbled under her breath. Rogue heard her but pretended not to notice even as she spotted Jubilee shooting Kitty a glare.

“And why is he after you, Rogue?” Logan voiced darkly, his tone more controlled then before. He was still angry with her and Remy it appeared hadn’t helped but she was confused why he should care so much about that particular matter.

“After me?” she voiced in confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

If it was possible Logan’s glare went up a degree or two.

“He knows you and he found us here.”

“We may have left out one particular detail,” Mystique interfered, her eyes telling Rogue to keep quiet as much as possible.

“Like what?” Storm asked fiercely.

“Graydon knows we’re coming for him,” she replied. “He doesn’t know when and he doesn’t know how many, he just knows that his information was leaked and that I was a known associate in retrieving that information. “

“And you didn’t think that would be helpful before?” Logan snarled.

Mystique continued as though he hadn’t just spat in her face. “Remy and Rogue do know each other previously but nothing to do with this current situation,” she paused to add more slowly. “More of a personal connection if you will. It just turned out to be helpful for Graydon that Remy is a thief with many connections.”

Logan was suddenly beside her as Rogue felt him slip past. Narrowing his eyes at her as he walked past he whispered only low enough for her to hear. “If he’s a thief, Rogue, what is he here to steal?”

She didn’t answer him and he continued to pace in front of the thief. It was her turn to glare across at Mystique; things were becoming way too problematic.

“What are we going to do with him?” Bobby spoke up.

Logan crouched down in front of Remy and started to slap his cheeks lightly.

“Time to wake up, Cajun.”

Remy moaned but didn’t open his eyes.

“Now,” Logan demanded as he tapped him more sharply on the left cheek.

Remy’s red eyes opened and Rogue heard Jubilee gasp in surprise at them. They did have a habit of capturing one’s attention.

“Merde,” Remy mumbled.

“What are you doing here Remy LeBeau?” Storm commanded.

“Obtenir un peu d'air frais,” he mumbled again as he visually winced no doubt from a pounding headache. (Getting some fresh air.)

“That ain’t funny, LeBeau,” Logan growled in his face and Rogue smirked at the surprised look on Remy in that Logan knew French.

“You’re more of a cultured man, den you’d had dis thief believe, Wolverine,” Remy muttered with wider eyes.

“How do you know who I am?”

“Remy know all about you, X-Men,” he replied as he struggled against his ropes but found it was pointless. “In Remy’s line of work he need to be knowledgeable.”

“And what exactly is it that you do, Gambit?” Storm asked.

He smirked at her despite his bruises. “Many things, many, many things.”

Kitty suddenly stepped closer towards the thief.

“Kitty?” Pete asked in concern.

“What is it?” Bobby added.

Kitty frowned before stepping closer towards the light of the fire nearby.

“It’s just,” she started and trailed off as her frown became deeper. “I think I’ve seen him before.”

“What?” Jubilee voiced in surprise.

Rogue watched Remy closely as he smiled secretively.

“Can’t remember poor Remy petite fille?” he asked knowingly. “Remy be wounded,” he finished with a light laugh.

Pete laid a gentle hand on Kitty’s shoulder and pulled her back frowning at Remy’s tone.

Remy coughed suddenly. “Chere, you really did a number dis time.”

“It’s your own damn fault,” she replied.

He glanced down at his wrists and frowned. “You gunna owe Remy big time for dis,” he finished by nodding at his ruined bow stuff.

“Right...” she trailed off sarcastically.

She noticed everyone else was suddenly quiet as they watched her and Remy talk. Rolling her eyes she figured it was time to take charge.

“Remy,” she began as she stepped closer. “How did you find us in the middle of nowhere and why does Kitty think she’s seen you before?”

“Ah,” he leant his head back against the tree as far as the rope would allow and gave her a big smile. “Two questions but only one answer.”

“Spill, Cajun,” Logan growled as he hovered over Remy.

“Well since you asked so nicely, Wolverine.”

Logan’s claws started to peek out of his knuckle as he edged closer to their captive.

“Logan,” Storm called. “We need him talking.”

“For now,” Logan growled low and stepped back.

“All Remy can really say is dat da security is pretty lax at Xavier’s.”

“Gambit do get to the point?” Mystique voiced with obvious annoyance before any of the X-Men could.

“Graydon had his concerns dat Rogue might be joining you Mystique and since Remy didn’t know where Rogue was he tried many different possibilities. A few months ago Remy found himself at Xavier’s school and he pretended he was a possible recruited teacher to some of the kids. Da petite fille over dere probably saw Remy but dis thief know how to blend in well.”

He paused and licked his lips. “So Remy decides to charm some of the kids and tells them dat if da magnifique Rogue shows up he’d be interested to know cuz dey old friends.”

“I thought you were educating smarter children then that Storm,” Mystique spoke up.

Rogue felt the need to interrupt before Mystique agitated Storm any further.

“Stop it Raven,” she snapped and landed her gaze on Storm. “When I said he was charming, I meant literally he has the power of persuasion.”

“That’s all and well Rogue,” Mystique stressed. “But there’s still the fact that he was able to be on their grounds without knowing.”

“Can Remy get back to his story?” he interrupted with amusement.

“I think you’ve cleared it up for us,” Logan snapped.

Remy smirked. “Oui,” he paused to wince again. “All Remy had to do den when he found out Rogue had been to Xavier’s was to keep an eye on you X-Men and tracking da X-Jet wasn’t dat hard considering you stayed in the area.”

“Don’t be so hard on da kids,” he added. “Dey just thought Remy wanted to be a bona fide X-Men.”

“Cute,” Rogue smirked at him in irritation.

“Why are you working for a man like Graydon?” Storm asked in concern.

“Why does he do anything,” Rogue replied tersely. “For the money, ain’t that right Remy?”

He was quiet as she faced him. “The price for your soul is never too high.”

“Je suis désolé, je vous blesser,” he whispered. (I’m sorry I hurt you.)

“Vous ne pouvez pas me blesser plus quand je n'ai plus de soins,” she replied bluntly and walked away. (You can’t hurt me anymore when I no longer care.)

Remy bowed his head.

“Mystique a word,” Storm demanded.

Mystique silently followed Storm as they moved off into the distance.

“We each take shifts watching him,” Logan directed suddenly, his words clipped and short.

“Remy honoured,” he muttered but still hadn’t lifted his head.

“Pete and Kitty you’re on first watch,” Logan demanded as he walked away.

Remy suddenly lifted his head and focused on Bobby with amusement who eventually caught on and frowned at the attention.

“What?” he demanded.

“Nothing,” Remy replied but he laughed to himself.

Bobby became noticeably angry.

“What’s so funny?”

She thought about telling Bobby the best thing he could do was walk away and ignore Remy but she didn’t much care. She spotted Logan still hovering nearby but most of the shadows hid him.

“It’s just,” Remy began only to trail off laughing again. “Remy can’t believe you had a chance and you blew it with vanilla over dere,” he finished by nodding at Kitty.

“What?” Bobby voiced in confusion, his ice blue eyes clouding.

“You know what Remy be talking about,” he paused and directed his eyes at Rogue. She turned away not wanting to get caught up in his little game.

Bobby looked at her and realization dawned on his face but his frown quickly turned into a glare at the laughing thief.

“Don’t worry so much Iceman,” Remy seethed suddenly, his voice clear and hard. “Dere’s only a few men man enough for da Rogue.”

“You bastard!” Bobby yelled and lunged forward only to be stopped by Pete.

“Let it go,” Pete instructed and Bobby walked off in a huff.

“Remy already be making friends,” he laughed again but Jubilee turned and left ignoring him as well.

Pete and Kitty sat down a few feet away by the fire but Pete kept his eyes on Remy.

Rogue glanced around and saw that Logan had slipped off somewhere but she wasn’t so sure he wasn’t just watching and listening from a distance.

Waiting a few minutes, Rogue watched as everyone else appeared occupied. Eyeing the night around her she waited for any sign of Logan but realized if he didn’t want to be seen he couldn’t be.

Both Kitty and Pete were talking about something as well their heads bowed together.

Moving forward slowly, she crept in front of Remy and crouched down beside him as she pretended to make sure all the ropes were secure.

“Come to add some more wounds,” Remy whispered at her.

She glanced around once more before whispering back, “You attacked us, Remy.”

“Non, correction Remy attack da Wolverine and you got involved.”

“Same thing, Remy.”

“Is it?” he looked at her in surprise.

“Remy thought we were one in da same Rogue, only out for ourselves.”

She eyed him closely, willing somehow to understand the man before her.

“You don’t have to be doing this?”

He turned away from her and didn’t answer.

“Tell me one thing Remy, you owe me at least this,” she whispered lower.

He turned back towards her and waited. “Did you give your copy to Graydon already?”

“No answer will make you believe Remy.”

She sighed.

“Remy, just tell me the truth about this, this way...” she trailed off and leaned in suddenly desperate. “This way we all know what the stakes are.”

“And what about da X-Men?” he asked slowly. “Do dey know all da stakes?”

Rogue looked down briefly. “They wouldn’t understand.”

“Da Wolverine looked like he wanted to understand you Chere.”

She scowled at him. “You heard him, he didn’t believe....”

“Sometimes you make it hard to believe, Chere,” he paused to lick his lips. “So many lies dey hide da truths.”

“I do what I have to do, Remy,” she hissed through her teeth.

“Oui, we all do.”

Suddenly reaching in she grazed her hand over his trench coat. “Tell me Remy,” she implored him.

“Graydon doesn’t know dat Remy found one of the last copies already. Dis thief was planning on selling it to him for a higher price once Remy had da other one.”

She nodded slowly and kneeled back a bit.

“So tell Remy, Chere, so he know da stakes too, did you and da blue wonder find da third copy.”

She nodded slowly. “And you’re not getting it.”

He nodded in understanding. “Remy always knew you wouldn’t, he was going to have to take it.”

Abruptly she moved forward and rummaged through his pockets. He chuckled.

“Couldn’t wait to get your hands back on dis mutant could yah?”

“Rogue, what are you doing?” Pete asked suddenly as he stood up.

“I’m just making sure he doesn’t have any other weapons on him,” she called over her shoulder and tried at an honest smile.

Pete watched her for a moment but nodded and sat back down.

“Da steel giant is too trusting of you,” Remy whispered.

She scowled at him.

“You didn’t think dis thief was an amateur did yah?” he asked. “Da book ain’t here.”

She finally stood up as she realized he was right.

“There’s only three left in existence and you’d hand them over to that monster for a pay check,” she spat in disgust.

“Why do you care so much, Chere? Wasn’t it just fables, isn’t dat what you told Remy once. It was just useless rambling of a dead woman who Mystique was trying to get you to believe in so she could have you again.”

She didn’t answer him.

“What made you believe, Rogue?” he asked in awe.

She turned away and kept walking.

“Rogue?” he called after her but she ignored him.

She wasn’t exactly sure how to explain to anyone about what made her believe. But a large part of her reluctance to explain it even to herself was that she’d grown to feel that she didn’t have to explain herself to anyone. She was running around the world looking for the last three remainings diaries of a dead woman who’d somehow played a pivotal role in her younger life and perhaps her future.

The Books of Truth, Mystique had called them. The fate of the world written down by a blind mutant named Destiny who Rogue recalled calling Irene when she’d been younger.

So here she was a mutant known for her lying and her deceiving searching the world for the truth. It was almost poetic, if it wasn’t so pathetic.

Vengeance and guilt were two bitches of things Rogue just couldn’t seem to escape.

It was even harder when only one of them was truly her own personal emotion. The other was another being’s entirely.

These were the consequences of her cursed skin. Sucking the very essence of a person until they lived inside of you is like becoming Death itself, only sometimes if she held on to long, that other person became the undead as she liked to call it. Forever a voice inside of her or an imprint. Forever stuck it seemed.

Carol Danvers was the undead that followed her around and she was full of vengeance.

Rogue in return was full of guilt. The two hand in hand.

Carol was but a fading presence most of the time, but her everlasting powers of strength, flight and invulnerability were constant reminders that Rogue was a thief in her own way, no better than some.

But when the dreams came, when the night wasn’t as sound as she would have liked it and her mind was too clear, she was forced to remember that Carol was the ghost that walked with her. Carol was the shadow that threatened to swallow her whole.

And the thing with Carol was that sometimes she had her good days and sometimes she had her bad days like anyone else.

Tonight was a bad one.

She was falling, fast. The air sailing past her ears, almost painfully. She called out but the scream caught in her throat.

Her arms flailed around her useless as she tried to stop falling.

Suddenly, she felt the change in the air as she knew the end was near.

Abruptly, she crashed through the water’s surface.

Bubbles flew up around her as she struggled for the surface but she seemed weighed down by something. She could hardly see anything around her, the bubbles never appeared to disappear, and they only multiplied. The eerie green water swirled around her and every time she kicked the bubbles spilled out around her.

She needed air. Where before there’d been too much there was not enough now.

Struggling she kept reaching for the surface when suddenly a hand reached through and pulled her up.

She gasped for air quickly but it didn’t seem to matter as the very hands that had been her saviour wrapped themselves around her throat.

Her eyes wide as she looked up at shock as Carol Danvers’ green eyes stared back at her with hate. Her strong hands wrapped around her throat, unconcerned about her long blond hair that fell on Rogue’s face.

Reaching up, Rogue tried in vain to release Carol’s grip but her water soaked gloves slipped and fumbled.

“Let go,” she gasped. “Please let go.”

She could feel herself becoming dizzy as she struggled but Carol’s grip only became stronger.

“Please....” she gasped again, her eyes watering.

“You know what I think, Rogue,” Carol spat as she leaned in. “I think you wanted it this way. How else could you go back unless you showed them how great you were without them?”

“Noo....” she coughed. “It ...it wasn’t like that...you...”

“Don’t play the blame game with me, Rogue,” Carol hissed.
“All that strength, all that power that’s yours now but they have no idea how weak you really are.”

Carol leaned in to whisper in her ear. “How tainted you are.”

“Let me go.”

“Poison.”

Carol smiled down at her and forced her to turn her head suddenly to the side. Rogue’s eyes followed as she was faced with a wall made out of green water that rippled still.

“There is no escape, Rogue.”

Rogue struggled to look away as she morphed into Mystique and was faced with her reflection of the blue mutant.

“Look!” Carol yelled as she forced her head sideways.

“No...nooo..no,” she repeated as she scrunched her eyes close.

“There is no escape, Rogue,” a deeper voice spoke above her.

Opening her eyes, she screamed as Logan suddenly loomed over her, his eyes cold and a flamed with fury.

He leaned in suddenly and she thought she was going to suffocate.

“No!” she screamed.


Rogue jolted awake with a gasp as she felt herself gulping for air. She could feel the sweat beading on the back of her neck and around her forehead. Taking deep breaths she tried to steady her heart beat as she grazed her neck slowly.

Leaning forward she rested her head on her knees as she tried to forget the nightmare.

One of the problems with the nightmares was that she could blame it all on Carol but there wasn’t enough of Carol’s personality left in her, after a helpful mutant had made sure Rogue would be able to survive after the attack mentally. The nightmares were Rogue’s own manifestations and she was not a fan of the sudden change that particular nightmare had taken on at the end. Logan and Carol in the same dream were too much.

Carol haunted her because of her own guilt and the reason she’d ever even come in contact with the other mutant had been because of one simple thing, vengeance.

Vengeance was a powerful thing and Rogue had unfortunately found herself caught in the middle of it.

Her dream had one truth to it. Carol had been the one to attack her.

The attack was the price of associating with someone like Mystique.

Mystique had a lot more enemies then friends.

Carol Danvers had been an enemy.

Rogue wasn’t exactly aware of all the details but she knew Carol and Mystique had a past that was full of betrayal and mistrust, mostly on Mystique’s part. Not that that was much of a surprise.

So when Carol had been looking to settle a score with Mystique and Rogue was known to be working with her, she was the logical target in getting Mystique to come out in the open. When Carol had attacked her by surprise, Carol had gotten a surprise of her own. Carol figured her strength and invulnerability meant she’d literally be unaffected by Rogue’s minor skin problem.

She’d been wrong. Fatally wrong.

The grip around her throat had been too strong and when her skin had leapt to life at Carol’s bare touch, Carol lost the ability to control her strength and she couldn’t let go and Rogue couldn’t pry her hands loose.

Mystique had found them both lying on the ground, so she was told. Carol dead and Rogue, well she hadn’t been home either.

She did remember Mystique knocking her out because Carol was in control and she couldn’t block her essence. It had been too overwhelming.

It took a month or two to get control again.

She wanted to hate Carol herself and she wanted to hate Mystique for bringing it on her but it really was a blame game because she knew what she had been getting into in running with Mystique despite her reasons and she couldn’t hate Carol because it turned out she hadn’t been that bad of a person, despite the attempt to knock her out and use her as bait.

Carol had been turned by her vengeance against Mystique for being wronged, for being left behind on a mission she thought was helping the mutant case and not just destroying the humans. And being misguided was something Rogue knew about.

Carol didn’t really hate her. Carol no longer existed and she didn’t want to evaluate what that meant she thought about herself.

Sighing, she realized she needed some fresh air, as her small tent felt damp with her fear and sweat. Undoing the zipper she exited quietly.

Standing up straight she stretched and felt comforted by the cool air on the back of her neck.

She spotted Jubilee sitting by the fire and decided it would be rude to walk away as though she hadn’t noticed.
Walking forward towards the fire, Jubilee looked up at her and gave her a small smile. Nodding back she glanced at the sleeping Remy still tied to the tree as she sat down across from the other woman.

“Storm gave him some pain killers and patched him up a bit on her watch,” Jubilee spoke up.

“That’s mighty nice of her,” she muttered as she watched him wondering if he really was asleep.

She knew Jubilee was watching her and the silence grew as the fire cracked and spit between them.

“I’m sure you could have done more damage to him if you had really wanted to, he can’t be all that bad.”

Rogue glanced back at her and found herself smiling. “You just think he’s hot.”

Jubilee opened her mouth about to refuse when she just smirked and nodded. “Well can you blame me?”

“No,” Rogue shook her head.

“No I suppose you don’t,” Jubilee shot back with a twinkle in her eye.

“What’s that suppose to mean?” she found herself asking, suddenly feeling surprised about how comfortable Jubilee made her feel. Like they were still good friends. It was a little off putting but she figured it was actually just plain nice not to be faced with angry accusations.

“Oh come on, “Jubilee whispered. “The sexual tension between you two was pretty obvious.”

Rogue laughed lightly and sat back from the fire. “He’s working for the enemy, Jubilee.”

The other woman shrugged. “Doesn’t mean a girl can’t have some fun.”

Laughing again she shook her head. “You’re a riot.”

Jubilee sobered up quickly as her gaze became serious. “Do you really mean that?”

Rogue looked up at her and knew what she was really asking. Glancing at the fire she paused a moment before she responded, “Yeah, Jubes I did miss yah.”

When she didn’t answer back Rogue looked up at her again.

“You gunna accuse me of lying too.”

“Nah,” Jubilee replied with another shrugged. “You wouldn’t say something like that unless you meant it.”

“So now you know me,” she shot back.

Jubilee smirked at her with an easy shrug. “No I can’t say I know you like the way I did, but there are some things about people that you know are a part of who they are and no matter the time, if you knew those parts once you can recognize whether or not they’re still there and you, Rogue...” she paused to poke a stick in the fire. “Don’t lie to people you think have earned your trust and your honesty.”

Rogue crossed her legs and smirked at her warmly. “I would say you were being extremely cocky Jubilee but...thanks.”

Jubilee winked at her. “Is it possible to be your friend again?”

“I’m not so sure you’d want to get to know the new parts of me,” she muttered as she focused on the fire darkly.

The flames of the fire were hypnotically building and her focus blurred.

“How about you let me decide that?”

She watched Jubilee and found the young woman was extremely serious and wasn’t going to back down.

“Well alright then,” she spoke back with a small smile.

Jubilee smiled and almost bounced on the log as she poked the fire again. “I missed you to, Rogue.”

“Well I figured that was given,” she responded and laughed at the same time.

“Ugh, girl you have no idea what it’s been like with you gone,” Jubilee gushed suddenly as she moved to sit beside her. Rogue found herself automatically pulling away but she resisted the urge as Jubilee continued without even noticing. “I swear, I love Kitty and all but the girl has been getting such a high head with you gone. It takes two of us to keep little miss princess in line sometimes.”

Rogue laughed even if she was still a bit guarded. “Come on, Jubes, it looks like Pete must be doing her some good.”

Jubilee rolled her eyes. “Yeah I guess, but sometimes I feel bad for the guy, he has no idea sometimes what a handful she is.”

“And why are you defending her?” Jubilee suddenly asked her.

“Well,” Rogue began. “It’s not like I hate her Jubes, it’s not like I ran away because her and Bobby somehow broke my heart it was more about...”

“Abandonment and betrayal in those you trusted,” Jubilee finished.

Rogue snorted. “You make it sound like a study case, Jubes.”

“Hey I’m with yah, girl.”

Smiling easily she found herself relaxing at Jubilee’s familiarity and a warmth that had nothing to do with the fire.

“And you have no idea how mopey Logan’s been,” Jubilee whispered.

Rogue’s smile vanished as she realized she didn’t want to be talking about him, especially if the tone in Jubilee’s voice was any hint, she talked as though his problems had something to do with her.

“He’s been like some zombie.”

“He was like that even before I left, Jubes,” she replied tightly.

“No,” Jubilee replied calmly. “He was moody and angry and short tempered and full of grief and confusion but lately it’s just been...blah.”

“Blah?”

“Blah,” Jubilee repeated as though it explained everything.

“Right,” she added shortly and nodded, wishing to change the subject.

Jubilee for her part seemed to pick up on her uneasiness and was quiet for a few moments.

“Rogue,” she began quietly. “I’m not going to question you on why you’re hanging with Mystique right now but...” she paused. “Her being here, makes me gotta ask...” she trailed off but Rogue waited quietly for her to find the words.

“You’re not trying to screw the X-Men over are you?”

She knew on some level it pained Jubilee to ask her that and at the same time it was an appropriate question.

“I can honestly say that is not my intent and surprisingly it’s not Mystique’s.”

Jubilee let out a breath. “Just had to ask you know, Mystique isn’t known for her sensibility.”

Rogue laughed. “No...no she isn’t.”

“Glad to know you know that too.”

“Yeah,” she responded more quietly.

Rogue stared into the fire and found the silence refreshing as both her and Jubilee relaxed, her dream was almost forgotten. The warmth of the fire was spreading through her as she found a weariness leaving her at Jubilee’s acceptance.

“So Rogue, do tell about Mister fine assed Cajun over there?”

Rolling her eyes, she couldn’t help it as her lips twitched with mischief.

“Jubilee.”

“Like you didn’t get with that,” she exclaimed.

Rogue bit her lip and tried not to smile.

“Details,” Jubilee whispered with excitement.

Shaking her head with amusement she replied softly, “Maybe you should keep your eyes on the fire burning in front of you right now.”

“Fine,” Jubilee sulked. After a moment the other woman nudge her shoulder lightly. “It’s just nice to see your requirements aren’t just hairy and grumpy no matter how fine they look in rugged jeans.”

She raised one eyebrow up at her.

“I’m shutting up now.”

“Good.”

The fire flared and new sparks flew up into the night.

“He still looks good in rugged jeans, Rogue,” Jubilee whispered.

Rogue sighed and decided not to respond because she knew it was futile to disagree with such a statement about the Wolverine.

“You look tired, Rogue; I can handle the Cajun and Bobby’s on watch next.”

Rogue nodded slowly and realized talking with Jubilee had calmed her down.

“Thanks, Jubes,” she responded and nudged her back playfully as she stood up.

“Good night.”

“Good night, Rogue.”


***

She felt the sun burn through her eyelids abruptly as the rays of light pricked her skin and she opened her eyes only to be met with a looming shadow over her.

She squinted in confusion and was puzzled by the violent manner her tent flap had been opened with.

Blinking several times she raised a hand above her eyes and glanced with bewilderment at Logan who was hovering over her.

Glancing around the small tent, almost ignoring her, he snarled and spun around, the flap falling back in place.

What the hell, she thought.

Scrambling to her feet, the tent flap was pulled back again but far gentler than before. A smiling Mystique crouched in front of her.

She already didn’t like her wake up call.

“What the hell was that about?” she blurted out as she rubbed her eyes.

The other woman’s lips twisted into amusement.

“I think Wolverine was checking to make sure the Cajun wasn’t keeping you warm.”

“Huh?”

Mystique rolled her eyes.

“Don’t be coy, Rogue,” she began. “You know very well how he thinks about...”

“Why would Remy be in here?” she demanded, not caring about her interruption. “He was tied up to that dame tree.”

Her eyes widened as she realized the problem.

“Shit,” she swore under her breath.

“Yes,” Mystique mused as she glanced out of the tent but Rogue couldn’t see anything past her. “His escape has the X-Men scurrying around like headless chickens.”

She scowled at her. “He’s a world class thief, Raven.”

“Yes, but he was injured and tied up by the Wolverine and suppose to be on watch by the dear X-Men, I see fit to place the blame on them. Don’t you agree?” she finished with a predator smile.

“God, you get off on the weirdest things,” she muttered as she slipped her jacket on.

“They messed up.”

Rogue nodded. “Speaking of which,” she began and eyed the other mutant. “I think it was a little unfair of you to be hounding Storm about Remy’s unknown appearance on their grounds. I think I recall very vividly you walking around as though you owned the place once.”

Mystique eyed her as though watching for something, but she wasn’t sure what.

“I was pretending to be a student, Rogue, much more subtle.”

“Whatever,” she responded back.

“Don’t tell me were going to have to deal with those issues again?” Mystique spoke almost carefully but her tone exposed her tired annoyance.

“Yes, it seems so unusual with me to have issues with you about pretending to be a hateful student to get me to run away,” she responded flippantly.

“Clearly you didn’t have a good night,” Mystique responded.

“Besides,” Mystique continued. “My previous infiltration at Xavier’s just proves how vulnerable they are.”

Rogue ignored her as she zipped her jacket up.

“And no daughter of mine is vulnerable.”

She bit her tongue as she refused a retort.

Mystique took her silence as the end of their conversation and she stepped back and let Rogue out. Rolling her head, Rogue glanced around the already half collapsed camp but she could hear yelling in the distance. Turning around she spotted Logan, Bobby, Jubilee and Storm by the X-Jet and none of their expressions were happy.

“It appears that the Iceman wasn’t up to the job,” Mystique spoke up.

“What?”

“Rumour has it, Remy got him all riled up again on his watch and he took off for a supposed second to refrain from losing his cool...”

Rogue eyed her in obvious contempt at the pun.

“And poof, da Gambit was disparu,” she spoke in an imitation of Remy’s voice. (Gone.)

Rogue watched from a distance as Logan yelled in Bobby’s face, his body taunt with rage and his stance rigid with annoyance.

“You should be happy, Rogue, you’ve got the Wolverine riled up, you have your ex-boyfriend being presently emasculated and the X-Men openly presented as fools and you hardly had to lift a finger.”

“That’s not how I get my kicks,” she murmured as she watched a concerned Storm intervene.

“You’ll learn.”

She frowned and followed Mystique as she poured some water on the sparking remains of the fire. Her actions were calm.

“How is any of this working out for us?” Rogue found herself demanding. It was all just one headache after another. “I fail to see how we are on the winning end of any of this.”

“Try to hide it better that your anger stems from being around people who think they know you.”

Mystique focused on her seriously. “They’re just past ties, Rogue. Commodities to use to your advantage.”

Sighing, she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a cigarette. “What advantage is that?” she responded, her voice broken down and tired but to her it just sounded defeated somehow.

Mystique smiled at her and she grew annoyed by the game the other woman seemed to be playing with her. It was too early for this shit.

“Remy didn’t get the diary we recovered...”

Mystique interrupted her. “I believe he tried to search before he escaped but I made sure to hide it where he’d least likely look.”

Rogue didn’t have to ask.

“I stored it on the X-Jet, we’ll pick it up on the ride.”

“We steal it from the X-Men and then you just hand it back to them!”

“If you haven’t noticed, Rogue, they’re plenty occupied.”

She shrugged her shoulders and decided she just didn’t want to argue anymore, things seemed to be falling out of her hands too quickly anyways; it was time to learn to care to a lesser degree.

“But still,” she murmured around the cigarette after a moment. “We didn’t get his copy and he’ll be following us.”

“Yeah well he’s got Wolverine’s hackles going, we’ll have a better idea when he’s around,” the other woman replied confidently. “I told you it was a good idea to get them involved.” She nodded towards the X-men in the distance where Kitty and Pete were walking out of the woods no doubt checking for any sign of Remy.

Logan suddenly turned and stared at her from far away but even with the distance she felt a shudder go through her at the accusing look on his face. He finally watched her as though she was a stranger.

“I’m still waiting on that one to pan out,” she replied with reluctance.

Logan, who since taking a prominent role at Xavier’s school often found he would compare himself to the deceased Scott Summers. Somehow the Boy Scout was still a pain in his ass. The thing was he’d never considered he was a control freak. He was a guy who went with the flow but if things weren’t going his way he always had a plan b, a plan b that usually involved a lot of violence but nonetheless he liked to consider himself as the type of guy who was fine with blending in with the shadows, watching the world in front of him.

Being in the sudden presence of Rogue after an almost two year absence and he found that maybe he and the deceased Fearless Leader were one in the same about a few things. Rogue made him want control because she took everything out from under him and turned it upside down and shook it up just for the hell of it.

And she fucking enjoyed it and it was driving him mad.

In the past he’d had a problem reconciling the fact that she had been so embedded in his life and now as she moved around with Mystique with an ever present smirk he had a major problem reconciling the fact that he no longer knew all there was to know about this Rogue.

Which made him feel unsure, which made him feel nervous and when he wondered why it made him nervous, it made him feel vulnerable because at one time she had been his constant, the one thing that made the world stand still and now she was the axis that was spinning round and round and he was merely along for the ride.

She was never meant to change.

As ridiculous as it sounded even to him, he’d always held her apart from the ever moving motions of the world. She was Rogue but to him she’d always been Marie, a part that had been just for him. A part he had held onto selfishly, because as long as he was around to check up on the kid and the kid was there, then all was right.

He was a selfish man. He’d always known it but Marie; she’d never imagined him that way.

She’d been the mirror that had reflected back to him the man he wanted to believe he could be.

Jean had never seen him as the good guy. She’d seen him as something wild and untamed, someone that could awaken her dark fantasies. He wasn’t one to pass up such a challenge but if he really examined his relationship with Jean. It had been nothing special. Not to speak ill of the dead and not to discourage the warmth he felt at calling her a friend and a teammate but she’d been just like every woman he ever recalled running into.

And Rogue even when she had been but a young girl on the precipice of adulthood had often looked at him as though she saw beyond the wild untamed forest that was his mind and his body and saw something in him he wasn’t even aware of.

It had scared him.

It scared him that someone could have such a hold on him and now, now like a greedy man, he missed that acknowledgment that he’d only ever felt from one person in the world, who made him feel like he had more to offer.

That gift he had at being seen was gone now.

That young girl even further away.

Everything so suddenly out of his grasp.

He’d lost that chance and now he could only swallow the bitter pill of reality whole.

He’d run out on her too many times in the past and now she was only running forward with no care for looking back.

And it wasn’t like she hadn’t tried before she’d finally let go.


It was a stupid decision to stay. He didn’t know why he was still here in this place of life and death. Sitting on the edge of his bed he watched as his claws slowly slid out and back in and hissed at the pain with a grim smile. The metal of his claws were clean and gleamed in the dim light but he knew they were far from spotless.

Reaching down at the foot of the bed he picked up the bottle of scotch and downed most of it as he tried to forget. The blackness of the room weighed heavily around him even as he spotted the outline of the sunlight around his drawn curtains, but the darkness inside of him almost suffocated him.

There was a small knock at his door and he sighed with his head down already knowing who it was. He wasn’t sure what day it was and how long it had been since he’d last spoken to her.

He remembered she’d appeared suddenly one night as he had stood over the three graves solemnly, a bottle in his hands for company. He couldn’t sleep and his room faced the graves anyways and he’d thought he might as well go and face the music head on.

She’d approached softly and he’d wanted to snarl and tell her to leave him alone like he’d done to everyone else but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. She didn’t deserve it. She was the one he’d told himself he was to protect.

She stood beside him quietly at first and although he could tell she was tense she wasn’t a fluttering case of nerves that would’ve had his senses on edge. He almost appreciated it.

He found he couldn’t talk. His voice silent since he’d done what he’d had to do to save the world. He’s actions had been clear.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered softly.

And unlike everyone else who had said sorry to him, sorry for having to put an end to it all, he could tell that her sorry carried more weight than trying to ease his conscience for what he’d had to do to the woman they’d all known as Jean. She spoke to him as though she knew how much the loss of Jean caused him, that more than just a friend and a teammate.

Somehow, that one word, that one repeated word that had been running around the mansion since Alcatraz finally meant something to him.

Her hand suddenly grasped his and he was shocked at feeling her bare skin without the usual pain her mutation would normally cause him. He almost wished her skin had sucked him in, took away some of the pain and the numbness but it wasn’t a fair thought to begin with, she didn’t need any more of his darkness inside of her.

“Logan,” Rogue spoke lightly. “If you need anything let me know. I’ll be here.”

She squeezed his hand and before he could turn and face her she was already walking away.

And he didn’t call after her, because she hadn’t approached him to talk, the wounds were still to raw, she’d simply let him know, she knew he needed his space but that someone was there for him. He stared down at his hand in awe, feeling the traces of her touch and he felt it almost burn him and jolt him back to some kind of consciousness if even for a moment.

But now sitting in the abyss he had created for himself he knew it had been over a month since that day and she was worried.

“Logan?” she called softly through the door and he sighed deeply but forced himself not to move.

She didn’t understand. This wasn’t her burden to bear. He wasn’t the hero she thought he was.

He’d ripped his claws through the woman he’d professed his love for. He was a monster. If he’d done that then how would it end with Marie?

She didn’t need any more of his sins to hold.

She’d opened the door and was standing in the door way, almost hovering and he could feel his anger boiling over at everything and at himself. Why the hell was he still here? Why was he letting her bear witness to his shame?

Standing up abruptly he stalked over towards her and his gait was swift as he towered over her with a glare.

He saw her eyes widen but she didn’t back up. She looked so small suddenly, so delicate.

“Logan, are you alright...” she began but her grabbed her by the shoulders suddenly and pushed her back out in the hall.

“Stay the fuck away, kid!” he growled out and then slammed the door on her stunned face.

He waited a moment to see if she’d try again but her light footsteps faded away after a moment and he smirked to himself as he lifted the bottle back up to his lips.


He’d jaded himself even more with each day he’d spent in solitude but he’d never imagined how much in return he would jade the young woman he had known as Marie.

Because even though everyone hadn’t judge him for his temperament after Alcatraz, the one person whose opinion mattered to him wasn’t even around once he’d started to make an effort again.

He was going to be the good guy.

He was going to stay around and pick up the pieces of the damage he’d been a part of.

But the most important piece of the puzzle had been missing, because Rogue had left and he hadn’t even known.

Looking for her, he’d never stopped and with every loose trail and cold end he’d begun to think that his search was more out of guilt then anything. But living at the mansion he’d found every day waiting for her to come around every corner with a beaming smile that always seemed to be wider just for him.

It never happened because she was just the ghost that haunted him. It was as though he’d laid her to rest beside those three graves in the garden. He’d constructed her own grave in his mind, his own punishment for his ignorance.

So he’d stayed on at the mansion for more than one reason because if he’d come back, then maybe someday she would, because it was the only place that had ever been a constant for both of them.

He had the time to spare.

And each day that he found himself suffering the constraining walls of a school full of children he always knew he had a bigger purpose in staying in just being the good guy.

That purpose though, presently was becoming more and more of an enigma each moment he spent with this new and much older Rogue.

Her dark eyes still had the power to pierce him with her gaze but they were guarded. Her luscious red lips while they might smile were somehow always condescending and there was no warmth in either a small smile or a smirk. No familiarity. Her sharp cheek bones, while evidence of her growth as a woman, hardened everything about her and only added to highlight the twist of a smirk or the sharpness of a gaze.

If there was anything recognizable for him to see, she kept it hidden well behind her easy mask of indifference and playfulness.

A playfulness that evoked the tempting of a sinister siren that beckoned him into a maze of confusion and doubt.

The locks of her auburn hair mixed with the shock of white were the only thing that gave him momentary pause to the past. She hadn’t changed the white. She hadn’t tried to forget.

But the curves and the confident stance of her body of a beautiful full grown woman made him even wearier of the vixen before him because he could tell she knew how to use everything from her voice, to her smile, to her gaze and to the rest of body as a weapon.

Her skin wasn’t the only thing that could render a man speechless.

And he hated to know that a man like Remy LeBeau had touched her body in ways he hadn’t, in ways he found himself imagining despite the confusion.

Because unexpectedly he was reconciling the most disturbing thing of all, he wanted her. He wanted her mind, body and soul. He desired more than just familiar friendship; he wanted to accept her siren’s call. The darker parts of him called forth in his mind as he realized such thoughts made him bitter and jealous because he was a selfish man and despite his past ignorance he felt that in some way, she was just his. That subconsciously he’d already decided long ago that they were meant to be one another’s. Finally, acknowledging what her hold over him years ago actually meant.

But it seemed he was too late because the woman before him, wasn’t as accepting and she’d moved on but he couldn’t stop himself from feeling the way he did, despite the uncertainty and anger but most of all he had no idea how to approach her, how to find a way back into her world.

His actions were not out of guilt but out of need.

And he wanted to take her away from Mystique and from the rest of the world where she felt she needed to play the part of Rogue. He wanted to be the one to remove her mask and all he needed was a sign that the essence of who Marie was, was still in there, and he’d be the only one to recognize it.

But with each passing second she was making it harder and harder.

“Would you stop growling under your breath,” she snapped at him across the table, without lifting her eyes up from the paper.

Glaring at her, he shifted his eyes around the small patio of the cafe and was glad to see no one else had noticed he’d been growling as he’d been lost in his thoughts.

He picked up his coffee and grimaced at how cold it was.
His eyes scanned across the park that was in front of them and towards the street over where a tall gray building was beside many other tall gray buildings. Graydon Creed’s headquarters weren’t all that impressive but he wasn’t the one with the best view.

“Any news on their progress?” she spoke suddenly, her tone the common neutrality he was getting accustomed to with her.

“No,” he grunted and looked back at her.

She was smiling at him and he frowned in annoyance.

“Don’t sound so put out,” she began. “You could have been with the team doing the reconnaissance work.”

He glared at her and was annoyed by her suddenly relaxed demeanor as she settled back in her seat.

“Somebody had to watch you.”

Her eyebrow rose up and she bit the bottom of her lip in amusement. “Watch me?” she questioned with false innocence.

“If Graydon knows about you, we don’t want you getting spotted.”

“Fair enough,” she muttered with a sly nod. “That doesn’t explain why Mystique got to go along.”

“Storm can handle the blue bitch and she can shape shift,” he explained despite the fact he knew she was only toying with him, trying to drag out information.

She leaned across the table and straightened up. “Doesn’t explain why you’re here and not there?” she finished by nodding her head across the street.

“Because I know you like to play games, Rogue,” he growled low. “And ever since that Cajun showed up and disappeared I’m less inclined to believe your little story. So I want you as far away from where everything is happening as possible until you feel the need to finally share the truth.”

Her mischievous gaze bore into him but after a moment she relaxed again.

“Whatever, you say, Logan,” she muttered with a dramatic sigh.

He watched her and after a beat he spoke again deciding the particular topic wasn’t finished, “You know why you’re being treated this way Rogue. You know us, you know us even better then Mystique and you’re not telling us anything. You’re the one walking the line and deciding which way you’ll turn...”

“What are you so worried about?” she spoke up abruptly and a steel like focus bled into her orbs. “Do you think history is going to repeat itself?”

“What?” he responded in confusion.

The smile that slipped on her face was a restrained one.

“All of you keep talking to me like I’m still one of you. I wasn’t even really one of you,” she muttered but her eyes stayed focused on him. “I wasn’t even at the great battle. I was the traitor remember, the one who ran away to get the cure.”

“Marie...” he began but she cut him off sharply and her eyes turned hard.

“The last time a so-called X-Men went off on their own they joined Magneto and almost destroyed the world.”

His entire body went still as she approached the subject.

“And we know I was never known for being exactly stable but,” she began with an odd airy sigh that was really acid like in its delivery as she continued, “But if you and the rest of the X-Men keep looking at me like I’m going to suddenly go off the deep end and take you with me, I might just show you something that might justify those fears.”

He could feel the threat in her cold words and he kept his face neutral because there was one tiny thing he picked up on despite the annoyance in her tone, she appeared to be concerned about what they all thought.

As though she picked up on his train of thought she spoke again, “Jean was my friend and all but no one likes to be compared to a raging lunatic consumed with unlimited power.”

He stared at her in mild shock at her bluntness.

“Give me something to believe you’re not setting us up,” he replied harshly, annoyed that she was getting him so worked up.

“You’re more careful these days aren’t you?” she replied mockingly.

Reaching for her paper again, her eyes drifted away and she murmured, “You’ll get your proof when the X-Men get back.”

“So they will be getting back then?”

She looked up at him and smiled. “Of course, Logan. The world needs the X-Men and who I’m I to stand in the way of such righteousness.”

He scowled at her and found himself almost hating her. She made it so easy and once he realized it, he finally sat back in his seat and relaxed because if she wanted him to detest her, if she wanted to maintain a divide between them, he’d do his best to make sure she was unsuccessful.

So he waited and he watched her.

And he knew the exact moment it became too much for her as she looked up and acknowledged his unrelenting stare.

“What?”

He shrugged and a little confusion slipped into her eyes before the emotion was shut down efficiently but he didn’t refrain from his watchful gaze.

He was making her annoyed and now he was the one amused.

She opened her mouth slowly and he waited for the harsh retort but she surprised him as a weariness fluttered through her and he wasn’t sure she was aware of the change, no matter how subtle it was. His silence and relaxed stare were putting her on edge. He was learning how to change tactics.

Surprising him, she closed her mouth and silently glared at him. Silence over took her and within seconds her body movements became fluid as she floated back into her seat, her temperament outwardly appearing neutral again, but he eyed the crease in her lips where she was faintly biting the inside of her cheek.

He continued to stare at her.

Her fingers twitched along the newspaper edges and he knew now she was only pretending to read as the minutes ticked by.

“What is it Logan?” she muttered under her breath harshly. “I never knew you to play such childish games.”

“I’m interested that’s all,” he replied.

Without moving her head her eyes moved up to meet his.

“In what?” she sighed again and glanced back at the paper. “You have seen the female body before haven’t you?”

The corner of his eyes twitched and he felt the glare gliding over his facial features but he held it back.

“What are you doing?” he asked plainly.

“Reading the paper.”

He leant forward and rested his arms across the table.

“I mean what are you doing with your life?”

She looked up at him finally with wide eyes and she laughed at him.

“Are you serious?” she gasped in disbelief.

He nodded.

“I didn’t know you to be so fucking philosophical,” she replied, the tone albeit came across annoyed but the fracture in her voice conveyed an animosity. A hostility he found in the past two days came across often enough he wondered if she knew how much it seemed to surround her.

“I mean really Rogue,” he began, extremely serious. “Is this, whatever this is,” he motioned his hands in front of him. “Is this where you thought you would be in your life, is this what you want?”

Watching him for a moment, she appeared content to find he was genuine and she finally folded the paper up and leant across the table as well.

“I had a plan once Logan,” she began almost softly. “If you really want to know, I had hopes and dreams like any other girl.” She paused and smoothed one of her gloves down with her other hand. “Such a long time ago,” she muttered and her eyes appeared to glaze over, somehow looking through him. “But being the mutant that I am,” she spoke more focused as her eyes cleared. “There are no such things as hopes and dreams and wonderment. There is only the present and the will to carry on and if you’re looking for more meaning in the things I do, you won’t find it because I’ve learned the consequences of believing I could change things, make things better. Is that what you want to hear, Logan? You want to know what big event led me to sitting here with you, on opposite sides? It isn’t that simple, because it isn’t the big events that always shape our choices, it’s the small things, the things that add up in the end and Logan,” she paused and looked him dead in the eye. “The moment my mutation manifested I knew, I had no choice in the matter about where my life took me. It doesn’t matter what I want.”

She smelled like cigarettes and bitterness to him, a bitterness that appeared to taint the air around her, that he could almost taste it on his tongue and he could only stare at her in awe.

“What made you hate the world, Rogue?” he whispered, as he felt some kind of pain and shame build up in him in disgust at whatever had twisted the young woman he had always prided himself on into some warped soldier of the world.

“What makes you think it wasn’t a who?” she replied as she lifted one eyebrow in question, something familiar he knew she’d acquired from absorbing him so much.

He sat back a little and felt himself shake his head at her.

“You saying I made you this way?”

And he didn’t care that his voice wavered.

She glanced away and watched the people wandering through the park.

“Marie...” he implored her with a light whisper.

“No,” she replied softly and turned back to face him with a tight smile. “It’s never just the big things remember,” she muttered and picked up her coffee.

His abandonment of her and in not being there for her when she needed him or even in accepting her friendship had caused her great pain, he knew that, he knew she could hide it but she didn’t but while his betrayal had no doubt hurt her most of all, it had been all the little things that had caused her to leave Xavier’s.

It had been the accusations from her peers about making a personal decision to take the cure. It had been the self-doubt that her peer’s stares caused her to question her worth in not being there for her teammates. It had been the death of her friends and mentor. The secrets behind her back from her supposed friends that made her look the part of the fool. It had been the unease at finding she was caught between two worlds, no longer a mutant but not exactly human. And when the last thing that she had always depended on, him, had turned her away, she’d rightly concluded it was time to move on.

It was the little things that made the biggest decisions easier in the end.

And in looking at the woman who sat across from him now, he could feel his usual anger and mistrust fade away as his heart broke to know that such a light had been burned out.

“Going through life blaming everyone else for your own misfortunes isn’t a way to live either Logan,” she spoke calmly, even though her hard eyes glistened in the sunlight. “I am what I am.”

Something must have changed in his expression as her lips thinned and her chin jutted out.

“Stop looking at me like that, stop looking at me like I’m her, I’m not little innocent Marie anymore Logan stop trying to bring her back,” she snapped.

“I never thought you were innocent Rogue,” he replied softly. “Good and something to be protected, but I more than anyone knew there was an edge to you, I recognized it because it’s in me.”

She scoffed at him and sat back.

“You drew me to you, even in that dingy bar in the middle of nowhere, because you where both the dark and the light and eventually I knew that it gave you the ability to accept me, to have a greater understanding of the world. The problem now is, you’ve let that edge spill over into a world where you no longer let yourself see brightness and clarity not only in yourself but in those around you.”

“I can’t believe you can just sit there and say that to me. I don’t even know who you are, you’ve gone and blinded yourself to Xavier’s dream and along the way you’ve just lost yourself. You can’t even remember why the world brings you pain. Just flashes here and there of a procedure you may have signed up for voluntary or not,” she whispered harshly. “I remember every detail of what has lead me on this path and I learned pretty fucking clear that being naive to Xavier’s dream costs people their lives.”

His hands clenched into two fists as he felt the anger rise in him at her dig at his unknown past. He’d never thought her to be so callous.

“So you are Brotherhood,” he whispered with a low growl.

“No,” she replied and shook her head at him as though he didn’t possess the ability to understand what she was trying to say. “No,no,” she muttered as she cast her eyes down. “You can’t understand.”

“You don’t believe in trying to make the world a better place by trying to work with the humans?”

“Humans who used you up and would use you up again if they got the chance, Wolverine,” she hissed low and her eyes openly glistened with unshed tears.

“I’m not a monster,” she continued forcefully. “I want such a world just as you do Logan, just as Storm and Jubilee wish it to be but I cannot sit here and believe in one man anymore, I cannot believe in Xavier’s dream and I have my reasons.”

“You look at me and you see changes and you think they’re bad changes because they don’t conform to your past ideals. Ideals narrow your views, Logan and sitting here, I see the changes in you, I see the almost rosy, numb way you view the world now and I don’t fault you for it, I can see in some ways it has made you a better man, in your eyes,” she paused and sighed. “To me you were always a good man.”

He knew it took a lot for her to openly tell him that and he felt his chest tighten as there was no mocking in her words.

“In some ways Logan, I am proud of where I am right now and you might not be able to understand that, but I’ve learned to do what I have to do and I’ve tried not to lose those parts of me that I always felt were just Marie but the world can be a hard place, Logan and just because I grew hard with it does not mean I’m a failure.”

He sat back and found himself digesting her words and he found that while he still didn’t understand her, he knew that he had no place to judge her and that even though she enjoyed antagonizing him, it wasn’t the way for him to go with her. He’d failed before to understand her need when it came to him and now all he wanted was some common ground.

“I’m sorry, Rogue. If I implied that somehow no longer being an X-Men makes you less – that’s not what I meant- that’s not...”

“I know,” she interrupted him and even though she accepted his words he could tell a sense of relief came with them, as maybe part of the problem had been the line that was between them as an X-Men and a non-X-men. It gave him hope that maybe the divide between them as friends was much less. That it was fixable.

“Don’t feel ashamed for something that makes you proud, Logan,” she spoke up after a moment but her eyes were back again on the distant park. “You found a place that you belong.”

He was the good guy and yet he felt empty. Being an X-men had somehow turned into the symbol for everything he defined himself as and he never thought such a day would come. But Rogue honestly; spoke to him as though, even though she herself was surprised by the change in him, just as much as he himself was becoming aware of, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. But she was wrong about finding a place to belong. When he’d met her and when he’d gone after her without the X-Men and promised her on the train that day, he’d been the good guy without a symbol to hide behind, he’d found someone else that gave him that feeling of belonging.

Being an X-Men wasn’t shameful but somehow, blending into the team, he’d lost himself and to him that was the most shocking thing of all. He’d forgotten along the way how to function according to his rules.

He’d lost a part of himself and become soft and Rogue had gained something and become harder and neither was willing to judge the other anymore.

It was a common ground he was willing to start with.

And as he watched her sit still with an open gaze on the people all around them, he spotted the small familiarity in her. He saw no hate in her eyes at the world around her, just a bitter understanding of how things worked. A look he’d seen time and time again when she’d watched the other children at Xavier’s freely use their powers without a worry.

She may be far more protective of allowing anyone into her world but there was still a spark of hope in her eyes as she watched the world pass by that told him she still was the young woman he’d known, she’d just learned how to survive.

The vibrating in his front jacket pocket caught him off guard. Shifting his eyes away from Rogue he reached in and pulled out the cell phone.

“Hello?”

“Logan,” Storm replied on the other end, her voice sounded calm.

“How did things go?”

“They weren’t lying about Gradyon,” she supplied and he could tell there was a sense of relief in her voice.

“What did you find?”

He was aware that Rogue was watching him and listening as best she could.

“The security for one is way too advanced and high-maintenance for a possible senator. Security is in place for another reason.”

“Did you find what he’s protecting?”

“Shadowcat and Iceman were able to create a visual outline of the building, inside and out. Shadowcat was able to hack into their security system and a remarkable source of power is being directed towards the lower level. Further intelligence shows that certain rooms are blocked from the heat sensors, which means there is a lot of illegal machinery and activity occurring, why else would a politician be needing such power and security over kill.”

“But you have no proof that it is the sentinel program?”

“No we don’t. It’s too dangerous to enter the building without a plan but obviously Graydon Creed is up to something. It’s worth checking into.”

“I don’t disagree.”

“But you’re concerned,” she responded carefully.

He eyed Rogue.

“Yes,” he replied slowly.

“Has Rogue said anything further?”

“No,” he replied and kept his voice neutral as his eyes flickered around the cafe. “Were you expecting her to?”

“Hopeful thinking, I suppose,” she replied and paused.

“She has no reason to distrust us.”

He stood up and walked towards the path of the park, he nodded at Rogue as he went and she rolled her eyes but stayed in her seat.

“It’s not that easy, Storm. She trusts us to do what’s best in this scenario but she does not trust us the way you want her to. You aren’t her friend.”

“And what are you to her then?”

“Couldn’t tell you,” he muttered darkly and glanced at Rogue in the distance.

“I would have thought she would have trusted you out of all of us,” she spoke quietly.

“’Ro,” he started with a sigh. “I’d like to tell you she in some way doesn’t hold us accountable for certain issues before she left but you know that be pointless.”

“I...”

“We all made some poor choices,” he continued. “But I don’t think that’s what this is all about, there’s something more personal going on here then just her reluctance to help us.”

“And do you think that’s what is keeping her from being so open with us?”

“In part.”

“Do you think Mystique has some kind of hold over her?”

“Yes,” he replied darkly. “But I’m not exactly sure how.”

Storm sighed slowly. “We’ll move forward with this Graydon Creed thing but I will not allow Mystique any more lee way.”

“You gunna come down harder on the blue bitch ain’t ya ‘Ro,” he responded with a smile clear in his voice.

“It’s no secret she infuriates me.”

He laughed. “She infuriates everyone; I think its part of her mutation.”

“And Rogue?” he asked solemnly after a pause.

“Maybe even though we cannot say we fully trust her and she isn’t willing to trust us, we should be more considerate.”

“Considerate to a liar,” he snorted.

“Logan,” she stressed. “Your annoyance doesn’t hide how you really feel.”

He frowned.

“I thought how I feel is what got us into trouble last time.”

“Logan,” she spoke again with more directness. “Rogue is a capable woman, a woman who is in clear ability of making her own choices. Maybe if we show her we understand that, she’ll...”

“Decide to drop Mystique and move back to the mansion and become an X-Men,” he interrupted with bitter sarcasm.

“That would be the most desired outcome,” she deadpanned.

He shook his head.

“All I’m going to tell you as of now Logan is to stop watching her like she’s going to hand us over to Magneto himself any second.”

“If that’s how you want it,” he responded.

“That may be a command, Logan, but take it from a woman herself, no woman likes to be watched to the point she feels like you’re suffocating her. I know how intense you can be and certainly where Rogue has been concerned...”

“Is there a point to this?” he snapped.

“Rogue always trusted you, Logan. She trusted you with her life and I don’t think she even came close to trusting the rest of us that way. If you give her room to breathe, then maybe she’ll come to you with whatever is troubling her.”

“You’re too much of an optimist, any one ever tell you that?”

“You tell me that all the time, Logan.”

“Yeah, well you haven’t changed your tune and it’s damn annoying.”

She laughed lightly.

“Meet us back on the jet, Logan.”

He grunted in reply and hung up.

Running his hand through his hair he paused to release a haggard sigh. Life had never been this complicated when he’d been on the road, earning money on the fighting circuit but then again that hadn’t been much of a life at all but at least he always got by on instinct.

Instinct though was too complicated by reality and practical thought. Not having a good enough read on Rogue made even his instincts become obsolete. She’d always had the power to be the one to get under his skin, to throw off his perceptions but he knew she was bound to him in a mutual understanding that they were one in the same.

His promise to her on the train years ago had been simple instinct, no added thought to make him question why he felt tied to her but the promise hadn’t been empty, it held a truth for the future; that he would be there for her.

And even though, presently he had no idea which way she’d run if he pushed her in the wrong direction, he figured Strom was right in a sense, he’d give Rogue some extra breathing room and maybe her defences would come down. His promise had been a two way street, he’d seen it in her unrelenting stare even when she’d appeared so young, that she trusted him with her life and he the same. So even though he failed to keep her trust where her heart was concerned he wasn’t about to break a promise, one of the only promises he’d ever made.

Turning back to the patio he found his blood run cold as all the tables were empty. Two forgotten half-finished coffees rested beside a folded newspaper.

His eyes quickly scanned the park and he found his heartbeat rise as he saw no familiar streak of white within auburn locks.

“Shit,” he swore under his breath.

He wanted to be angry, observing she’d already failed him in giving her a little amount of space but with each passing second he became anxious and concerned. She had no reason to take off when Storm had confirmed Mystique was telling the truth.

Running forward towards the table he sniffed the air and tried to focus on her familiar scent. The extreme aroma from inside the cafe mixed with the passing fumes of several cars caused a slight hindrance for a moment before he found her sweet scent.

She hadn’t gone far.

Relaxing a little bit he followed her scent and made his way discreetly through a side alley way that made its way onto the main road.

Rogue stood leaning against the brick wall as her eyes focused on something in front of Creed’s building.

“Rogue,” he growled low as he approached her but she didn’t turn around to face him.

“You were on the phone; it would have been rude of me to interrupt.”

He snorted at her southern hospitality.

“Come on let’s go,” he muttered, frowning at her back and suddenly feeling anxious.

“In a minute,” she threw over her shoulder.

“Storm confirmed your information, so let’s go; we can’t chance Graydon seeing us.”

“I know that,” she replied. “Which is why I’m hiding across from this dirty dumpster and not sitting on that nice clean bench across the street. A girl’s got to have some sense about these things.”

“Rogue,” he stressed again and found himself instinctively reaching forward and circling his hand around her arm.

She turned and looked up at him in surprise but didn’t pull away. Looking into her eyes he could tell she was concerned about something.

“What’s wrong?” he asked after a beat as he realized she was unusually serious.

“Friend’s of Humanity,” she muttered.

Her eyes widened as she spotted something in the distance and she pulled him closer into the shadows.

“Graydon,” she whispered in his ear as a black limo drove past the alleyway and pulled up in front of Creed Industries.

He watched from their hiding spot with avid concentration despite the fact he was finding it hard to ignore that he was pressed so warmly against her body and he could feel her warm breath on his neck each time she exhaled.

A tall man with surprisingly broad shoulders exited the limo and buttoned his expensive suit jacket as he whispered to the driver. His short ginger hair was sleeked back and emphasized his square jaw. His dark eyebrows hovered over his eyes in an ominous manner despite the efforts to groom himself efficiently. Logan recalled seeing his image briefly on television before but in person he could tell there was something sinister in the politician just from the way he walked. The expensive suit didn’t hide the fact that for a politician Graydon was in unusual good shape, the outline of his body almost familiar to him but he didn’t know why.

“We should go,” he whispered.

“Not yet,” she replied and he involuntarily shivered as her lips hovered closer above his skin.

“Rogue,” he hissed low, feeling uncomfortable at being so close to Graydon before their true mission and the fact that she was so close to him, it was playing on his senses.

“Believe me he’s not paying attention to anyone but himself right now,” she muttered darkly.

She was right. Graydon walked purposely through the doors of his building and ignored several people around him. The man certainly had an ego.

Graydon disappeared from his view and the limo pulled away and his focus was suddenly mundane as a few people walked along the street, their minds elsewhere. With nothing to concentrate on he found himself becoming more aware of the proximity he was in to Rogue, who was unnaturally quiet.

Slowly, dropping his hand from her, his eyes cast downward as he stepped back. Coughing slightly his eyes drifted back up at her but she was once again focused on something past them.

“Let’s go Rogue,” he spoke up, but his voice was calm as he picked up on her agitation.

She glanced at him briefly and he thought for a moment she silently relented as there was a raw openness to her eyes but then she smirked and stepped out onto the street and walked briskly towards Creed Industries.

His eyes widened in surprise and for what he considered an embarrassing moment, he was startled into silence.

Clenching his teeth, he glared after her retreating form and substituted the profanity he felt rising in him for a growl as he quickly glanced around the street and followed her.

Not wanting to appear as though he was running after her, he quickened his pace and watched her intently, while making his senses open for the reappearance of Graydon.
She surprised him again though, when she by passed the doors to Creed Industries and continued on until she slipped into another alleyway. Catching up, he darted into the alley and ran after her.

“Rogue,” he snarled low as she stood waiting against another non-unique dumpster, her eyes on what appeared to be a lone black door near the end of the exit.

“Shhh,” she snapped, as though somehow he was the one that was acting out of line.

“Care to explain?” he whispered harshly.

A black van suddenly drove in from the other end of the alley and came to a stop in front of the door and in response Rogue pushed him down behind the dumpster out of view.

“I told you, Friends of Humanity,” she whispered intently.

He glanced around the dumpster and noticed that no one had exited the van yet.

“When you were talking to Storm,” she began in a low voice. “I started to notice that black van was circling Creed’s building. There was a transport truck parked in the front entrance of the alley and I noticed when the van kept coming back they appeared to be waiting to enter. “

“I know van’s have a habit of being under suspicion, Rogue, but what...”

“Mystique has done her research alright,” she emphasized as she finally fully looked him in the eye. “She has watched how the FOH operates under surveillance. Since Creed wants to keep a low profile until he gets a senate seat he still prides himself on his organization, which means he still likes to be involved. The FOH has a habit of picking up mutants, either to beat them up for information, to use or even to frame to advance their hateful agenda or just for the fun of kicking around.”

“And Logan,” she spoke with sudden focus. “People in the FOH don’t discriminate when it comes to age.”

“You’re saying he picks up mutant kids?”

She nodded and glanced back around the dumpster as they both heard the doors slide open.

“Runaways have no one to miss them,” she whispered. “They’re the easiest to frame in showing the public how dangerous and threatening mutants are.”

He nodded and felt anger rise up in him even more when it came to Gradyon Creed.

Three rough voices echoed around the alley as three men dressed in civilian clothing exited the van. One of the men who was slightly overweight and had a splotchy beard was laughing about something and slapped the taller of the men on the back that had a stern look about him. Watching them, even from a distance Logan could tell each man had a gun on him, despite their regular appearance.

“I still don’t find your jokes funny, Rich,” the taller man spoke with a glare.

Rich, the overweight man stopped laughing immediately and frowned.

“How ‘bout this,” Rich replied. “The only good mutie is a dead mutie.”

Rich laughed again not even waiting for either of the two men to join in.

The tall man glanced at the driver who had been silent since the exchange.

“Can’t argue with that Steve,” the man who had been the driver replied with a slight grin.

Slowly, a nasty smile made its way on Steve’s face. “No I suppose we can’t Dave,” he finished as he gave Rich a small nod. “You’re still no comedian.”

“And you’re still up tight,” Rich replied with a glare. “All you ex-marines are the same.”

Steve glared down at Rich. “Let’s see what you have then,” he directed. “Go and get the cargo out of the back and no problems this time.”

“Yeah, we don’t want to have to clean up another one of your messes,” Dave added but there was no humour in his voice.

Rich muttered under his breath and disappeared around the back of the van.

Watching, Logan could feel a growl building in his chest as the three men talked with obvious disdain for the rest of humanity. It sickened him and he could tell Rogue was in agreement with his sentiment as she became tense with rage.

Rich appeared again after a moment with a young man who must have been at the oldest eighteen. His hands were tied up and a gag was around his mouth. His short brown hair was a mess and he had an obvious bruise on his right cheek. He looked shaken up and his wide eyes spoke of fear.

Steve hardly acknowledged the young boy but his voice was hard as he spoke next. “Now, don’t try running again this time, freak. Rich here doesn’t like the exercise and he’s libel to use his gun next time and don’t go thinking anyone’s gunna miss you.”

Dave raised his hand up to the young boy and motioned a gun signal as he muttered, “Bang, bang.”

The boy mumbled something through the cloth in his mouth and Steve turned sharply.

“What’s that?”

Rich laughed. “I think he’s trying to communicate with you.”

Steve glared at both of them and stepped forward as he yanked the gag out of the young man’s mouth.

“Got something to say, freak?”

The mutant swallowed deeply but he glared back at the taller man. “I already told you, I won’t tell you where any mutant hide outs are.”

Steve laughed suddenly and yanked him closer. “You’ll talk son or otherwise you’ll just be another dead mutie on the street.”

The mutant glared back at him silently.

Steve pushed him away in sudden disgust towards Rich.

“Let’s get him inside.”

Logan leaned over towards Rogue as he prepared a course of action but she stood up suddenly and walked out from behind the dumpster.

The silent profanity that ran rapid throughout his mind immediately was filled with swear words even he thought he had forgotten.

Rogue walked forward down the alley and it wasn’t until she was halfway towards the van did they notice her.

Rich let out a low whistle as his gaze landed appreciating on Rogue and Logan curled his fists in response.

Her walk was slow and measured as she sauntered towards them and even though Logan knew it was for show, he couldn’t help but notice how her hips swayed as well but he could feel the anger she was emoting and he wondered just how things were going to play out.

Both Steve and Dave turned around to see what had got Rich’s attention.

“Hello, boys,” Rogue drawled.

Dave smiled in response and his beady eyes openly wandered her body.

Steve though, frowned. “You lost?” he grunted.

Rogue smiled and quirked her lips. “No, no,” she hummed to herself. “I appear to be in the exact place I should be.”

“Like in my dreams,” Rich replied eagerly.

Rogue ignored him and glanced around them as she eyed the young boy. “What you got there?”

“None of your business,” Steve replied sharply. “So run along.”

Rogue paused and appeared to think over his advice but then she shook her head playfully. “And I’m not supposed to tell anyone right?”

“You’ll keep your mouth closed,” Steve commanded as he reached behind his back and pulled out a hand gun.

“I don’t think that’s an option,” Rogue replied, her voice suddenly harsh and cold.

“Who the hell are you?” Dave asked.

“I think with you people it would be more along the lines of, ‘what the hell am I?’”

Both Rich and Dave frowned but Steve’s face quickly turned into a disgusted glare. “A fucking mutant,” he spat.

She smiled and nodded.

“You got to be fucking kidding me,” Rich yelled as he pushed past Steve and stepped closer towards her. “Such a shame to ruin such a fine sweet ass.”

Abruptly, the large dumpster sailed forth along the wall and smacked Rich right in the face. Logan stood with an odd mixture of a smile and a glare on his face as he joined Rogue. His satisfaction was well apparent in ramming Rich with the dumpster as he stepped over the unconscious man’s body.

“Good execution, sugah,” Rogue replied as he stood beside her.

“He was getting on my nerves,” he added gruffly but kept his eyes on the two stunned men before them, Rich down for the count.

When both Dave and Steve had finally comprehended what had just happened it took at the most five seconds for them to open fire. Logan attempted to push Rogue away but instead he was the one who found himself sailing towards the ground as Rogue pushed him down and walked forward unmindful of the rain of fire power. Glancing up in shock, he watched in fear as each bullet hit her but he could see no damage.

Steve’s face finally broke into emotion as fear creeped across his eyes as Rogue only continued to advance on him. Finally, he stepped back as his gun clicked on empty and Rogue stood in front of him.

“This was a nice shirt,” she muttered before she punched him directly in the face and then reached behind his neck and shoved his face down onto her knee. He slumped to the ground immediately.

Dave’s jaw dropped and he reached for his second gun that was stashed around his ankle. Logan snarled and jumped up as he charged at the other man and grabbed his arm back and was satisfied when he heard the bone break and Dave screamed as his hand dropped the gun and he cradled his arm.

“You sick freaks!” Dave screamed, but there were tears of pain in his eyes.

Dave attempted to attack him with his other hand but Logan growled in his face and shoved him against the wall.

“You’re the poor excuse for human life,” he whispered callously into the scared FOH’s face and before he gave him a chance to reply he head butted him and Dave slumped against the wall, joining his fellow comrades in unconsciousness.

Turning around quickly he spotted Rogue as she searched Steve. Running up to her he pushed her up and had her up against the other wall as his hands rove over her stomach franticly. His eyes darted back and forth for any sign of the bullet wounds behind her hole ridden shirt.

“Logan,” she whispered but he continued as he lifted her ruined shirt up and was amazed to see only her perfect pale skin unharmed. The muscles on her stomach contracted at his touch as his finger grazed a spot where he could see a small fading mark of red and she gasped in response; he pulled back to quick for her skin to react but he spotted the few goose bumps that appeared on her skin.

“Logan?” she questioned breathlessly and he finally looked up at her in awe and relief.

His hands circled around her hips as he leaned in towards her and scented her for any blood, but there was nothing. His awe turned into anger.

She was watching him quietly and she appeared surprised by his actions but she didn’t pull away and even though he could feel both of their hearts beating with an adrenaline rush and there was a spike in both of their scents that made him want to bury his nose in her hair, he refused to get lost in the moment.

Leaning in with their lips only a centimetre apart he whispered harshly, “Don’t ever do something stupid like that again.”

Her brow crinkled in shock for a moment and she almost smiled but she must have picked up on how serious he was and she nodded slowly. Reaching down, her gloved hands came to rest on his.

“Logan,” she whispered tentatively. “Bullets can’t pierce my skin.”

He clenched his jaw. “I don’t care.”

“Why?” she whispered and her dark brown eyes bore into his. “You may heal Logan, but they still would have cut you down. You would still have felt the pain of a bullet ripping through your skin and your organs.”

He refused to budge and he tired to ignore it as her skin flushed a little on her neck as his breath ran over her neck and her cheek.

“Do you feel pain?” he asked with force even though he felt his voice was still a whisper.

She looked away. “Only a little,” she muttered.

He frowned at her. “Don’t do it again.”

“Logan, you’re being....”

“Ah, excuse me,” a voice interrupted them.

They both glanced at the young man who walked out from the back of the van where he’d obviously taken cover.

“What?” Logan growled annoyed at the interruption.

“Uh, thanks,” he muttered. “For kicking those guys’ asses.”

“They were asking for it,” Rogue replied and she glanced back at Logan and waited.

Slowly, he pulled his hands away and stepped back.

“You think you could untie me?”

“Sure,” she replied kindly, her eyes shyly glancing away from Logan’s.

Rogue started to release his bonds and Logan focused on picking up the unconscious men as he dragged them back into the van. He glanced around the alley and paused to focus his senses to see if their little fight had drawn any attention but only the sound of the cars driving by in the distance came to his notice.

“The name’s Reggie, you guy’s mutants too?”

Rogue nodded. “Nice to meet you Reggie, I’m Rogue and that’s Logan.”

“Cool,” he replied.

“You have a place to stay?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Good but I’d stay away from wherever these guys got the drop on you before.”

“Of course,” Reggie nodded eagerly.

Placing Dave in the back of the van Logan went and got Steve.

“You’ve got some cool powers,” Reggie continued to Rogue.
Rogue was quiet as she finished untangling his bonds around his wrists.

“I mean if I could have bullet proof skin that would be the coolest....”

“What’s your power, Reggie?” she interrupted him tightly but he didn’t seem to pick up on her underlying tone but he answered her anyways.

“Oh, well I can breathe under water.”

Logan glanced around the van doors as Reggie indicated the gills on his neck below his collar.

“Well, that’s pretty cool,” Rogue replied off-hand.

“Yeah I guess,” he responded. “Didn’t help me with these guys though.”

Rogue turned and picked up Rich and threw him over her back like he weighed nothing. Reggie’s eyes widened and he gasped in shock. Rogue deposited Rich in the back and shut the door as though there was nothing out of the ordinary.

“Listen, kid,” Logan spoke up. “Try and stay away from here okay. Take care of yourself.”

“You got it,” Reggie replied eagerly. “Thanks again really, if there’s anything I can do...”

“Don’t get captured,” Rogue replied with a tight smile as she slipped into the driver’s seat.

Reggie nodded and started to walk away and Logan could tell he was a little shocked by what had just happened but would be alright.

Opening the passenger door, Logan slipped in as Rogue started the engine.

“Where we going to stash these guys?” he asked, as he kept his eyes ahead trying to forget the feel of her warm skin just moments again and the heat that had passed between them.

“I might know of a few places.”

He glanced at her.

She smirked at him. “Being with Mystique you kind of know about these kinds of things more than anybody. She’s prepared that way.”

He snorted.

“Don’t tell me she goes around buying real estate?”

“Yeah, and when she does she makes sure to ask if the basement is sound proof.”

He shook his head and laughed a little to himself but he was unnerved by the sourness below her words. There was an almost weariness to her when she talked about Mystique and she talked as though they were one in the same and he began to wonder if maybe she had been serious when she had said Mystique was her mother. Before he’d simply refused to accept it and played along but now, now he realized she’d been telling the truth.

And as she drove in silence he realized Mystique didn’t physically have a hold over Rogue; Rogue saw herself differently because of who her mother was.

Following Storm’s advice Logan decided that breathing room meant less accusations as well and he concluded in that moment that he was going to treat her no different and he knew that was the best tactic because he realized from their past conversation that Rogue did fear something, she feared that he saw the changes in her as bad ones and the biggest change of all to her was who her mother was.

But the biggest change that hit him the most was the distance he felt between them and he hoped she’d figure it out sooner rather than later that that was what hurt him most of all.

Normally, Rogue found the thumping beat of the club music a soothing melody that comforted her into a numbing zone that was usually helped along by the drink in her hand. Despite the fact she was on her third drink she felt her head pound and it felt like the walls were closing in on her. Her balance was all thrown off. The reason why, was most obvious to her and she hated to admit it.

Logan.

It was such a pain in her ass to have to confront the fact that she had a past. Logan made her feel all kinds of things she’d learned to suppress a long time ago. It wasn’t fair that he seemed to have this power over her, because suddenly she was questioning and thinking and wondering who she was trying to be, because he’d gone and tilted her world view.

He seemed to honestly care about her and when she gazed into his eyes she saw the familiar warmth and strength she’d often looked to in him and it sparked something inside of her because there was a glimmer of change in his concern. A change that seemed to be more than just a sense of protectiveness, he looked at her like she held the secrets to the world. He looked at her like he wanted her.
Behind all the regret and the anger, his hazel eyes bore into her with a strength she couldn’t ignore, a willingness to communicate.

Sighing, Rogue shook the ice around in her drink and took a big gulp, hoping to feel the familiar numbness. Hoping to forget the way his finger had felt on her skin even though it had only been for a second, trying to forget the heat that had arisen up in her at his touch and his concern. Closing her eyes, she willed the recollection away even though she thought she could feel the phantom traces of his warm breath on her neck.

There was a sound of glass breaking and she opened her eyes as the shards of glass that had once been her drink lay upon her gloved hand.

“Try not to break the supplies here Rogue,” Mystique spoke as she slid into the seat across from her in the booth.

“They’d only just managed to fix the repairs on the front entrance due to that Cajun.”

“It was an accident,” she mumbled sourly and glanced down at the table.

“If I knew you would get this uptight, maybe I wouldn’t have thought to get the X-Men involved.”

Raising her gaze she glared at the other woman. “Spare me the motherly concern. It doesn’t matter what I object to, you’ll always go along and make any decision that will be most rewarding for yourself!”

Without missing a beat Mystique’s eyes narrowed but she kept a small smile on her face.

“Now is not the time for one of your episodes, not when we are lacking such privacy.”

Rogue scowled at her and refused to glance across the room where she knew Bobby, Jubilee and Logan were sitting.

Instead, she crushed her palm closed and felt the glass crunch under her hand and she watched with concentration as she lifted her closed fist up and slowly lifted each finger away as sand poured down towards the table top.

“Really, Rogue,” Mystique began more softly and Rogue figured she was trying to sound apologetic. “What has you so bothered? This isn’t like you.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“I know you far better than those people over there will.”

She remained quiet as she lazily moved her fingers through the sand.

“Even after all this time and you still concern your thoughts with that beast over there.”

She glanced up sharply.

“He’ll never give you what you want, Rogue. He knew how you felt and spent his time skirt chasing Dr. Jean Grey and once she was gone, he only proved to you how much of a second thought you were. He doesn’t know you.”

Tilting her head, she felt an odd sly smile drift onto her face. “I’m Rogue remember, nobody knows me.”

Mystique sighed, her shoulders dropping a level but her slim neck remained tall and her head high.

“You’ll get over this soon enough when their help is no longer needed,” Mystique paused and eyed her openly. “And if even then you’re feeling this way I would not object to you working your issues out with the Wolverine in a much more physical manner, perhaps then you’ll realize that is all he has to offer you.”

“Do you ever tire of sex being a weapon as well?”

Mystique smiled and her red tongue licked her top lip.

“Never.”

Hardly straining a muscle she rolled her eyes.

“Let’s just get this over with,” she muttered and leaned forward as her elbows rested on the table and she cradled the sides of her head.

“How did Graydon look?”

“As arrogant as ever,” she replied.
Mystique laughed deeply.

“What’s Storm going to do with those charming three FOHers?”

Mystique frowned. “She says they will be arrested, it appears they all have records anyways, won’t be hard to get them up for something.”

She smiled at the other woman’s tone. “You sound sad.”

“It’s not how I would have dealt with them.”

“Yes, but that’s why you and the X-Men differ,” she finished with a sarcastic snort.

“And where is it that you fit in Rogue?” she asked quietly.

“I’m here aren’t I,” she snapped back.

Mystique nodded and her smile grew after a moment.

“When will we hear back from the others?”

“Soon, I hope,” Mystique replied. “Storm of course wished to check back on the school and apparently the Kitten and her steel giant will be working on the best way to get into Creed’s building. They appeared hopeful that the security system would be easy to break into.”

“Right,” she muttered with a nod and leant back in her seat. “Didn’t think we’d still need any babysitters.”

Mystique’s yellow eyes darted across the room towards the other X-Men. “I could tell you that maybe they’re just concerned for us but really you know it’s all about keeping tabs on one another. Business is like that.”

She nodded again. “Just business, right,” she whispered low.

Before she could hear another bit of advice from the other woman, Rogue slipped out of her seat and made her way towards the bar. Making her way through a few mindless dancers she tried to ease the tension out of her body but Mystique had only made her more up tight.

Taking a seat at the bar a glass filled with whiskey was already in front of her. She smiled up in appreciation at John.

“Thanks,” she murmured and raised it immediately to her lips.

He smiled at her and reached behind the counter as he pulled up two shot glasses and began to fill them with tequila.

“I think we both deserve these,” he murmured as he eyed the corner of the room where the X-Men were.

She laughed lightly with honest relief.

“Bobby’s been glaring at me ever since he got here; I think he’s trying to figure out how he can set me on fire simply by looking at me.”

She laughed again. “I don’t think we’re their favourite people right now.”

He smirked and nodded as he put the tequila bottle back.

“I suppose they have their reasons,” he muttered and raised his glass to her. She picked hers up and clicked his with an affectionate smile as they each downed the shot.

She smacked her lips and placed the shot upside down on the counter. “You always pick the good stuff.”

His mouth cracked open into a wide smile that emphasized the scar on his face but he didn’t mind. “Only for my best customers.” He wiped the counter down and then swung the towel over his shoulder as he paused in sudden deep thought. “But then again I don’t think you’ve ever picked up a tab.”

“Hey,” she started in mock sternness. “If you’re after the money you’re talking to the wrong Darkholme.”

He nodded with a smile but his eyes drifted off into the distance. “I think Bobby’s glare has gone up a few degrees.”

“You know,” she began slowly. “You could always go and talk to him.”

“Sure, it’s that easy, Rogue,” he drawled sarcastically. “Why aren’t you over there taking your own advice?”

“Because there is nothing for me to say to them, but you,” she paused and pointed at him across the bar. “Left Bobby as your best friend and you did it so fast he didn’t get a chance to know why.”

Casting his eyes down towards the ground for a moment he nodded and leant across the bar from her. “You forgave me,” he whispered.

“I forgave you because I understood how confused you felt but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t angry with you when you’d left. Bobby though hasn’t gotten the chance to understand.”

Slowly, his lips stretched into a smile. “I suppose you’re right,” he whistled low.

“Aren’t I always,” she smiled mischievously behind her glass as she sipped it.

“Still though,” he began carefully. “Something tells me you didn’t end things so well with the Wolverine over there.”

Her smile fell and he smirked in response. “Bobby was never going to be the one you left behind Rogue, I knew that and I think even he knew that. You didn’t leave things unfinished with Bobby because he didn’t mean that much to you, but something tells me when you left Xavier’s you ran away all the same, just you’re running from someone else.”

“When did you get so fuckin’ smart,” she bit out but he only smiled at her and topped her drink off.

“Because you and I are looking for the same thing, Rogue, someone to understand us.”

“Next time, tell me to keep my mouth shut before I try to give you any helpful advice.”

He laughed loudly. “It ain’t me that’s the pain in your ass.”

She rolled her eyes and relented as she shook her head at him in playful annoyance.

“He watches you, you know,” he whispered low suddenly.

“I know,” she murmured, her fingers fumbling around the rim of her glass.

“They all are,” she muttered dejectedly.

“His eyes tell a different story and something tells me you’re too afraid to find out.”

He turned around and walked towards the other end of the bar to help a customer and she followed his back with a glare but her eyes drifted along the mirror against the bar and she saw Logan watching her from across the room.

She gasped quietly and tried to look away but she couldn’t.

Something caught her attention.

Something was different.

His gaze was suddenly so open and gone was the wonderment and accusations in his harsh stare; he was watching her with a hopefulness she didn’t wish to understand.

Hopefulness led to wanting.

Turning away quickly, she tried to ignore it but she could feel the mark he was leaving on her back as he watched her, as though she could feel his touch burning beneath her clothes and caressing her skin.

It made her want to feel things.

It made her want to remember how much she use to dream about him, how much she’d wanted him as hers.

The walls closed in around her tighter and tighter.

Quickly, she glanced down at her drink and raised it to her mouth. The ice caressed her lips and the amber liquid moved smoothly through her and she tried to concentrate on the contrast of the coldness against her mouth and the spike of hotness that moved through her with each swallow.

She was going to focus on making her world small again.


***


She could feel herself struggling. Her breath ragged with each gasp for air. Her fingernails were dirty with sand and mud. The heat of the sand burnt her skin where it showed through her torn uniform. The once magnificent leather tarnished and dull, the emblem of the X unrecognizable.

Climbing up towards the light and out of the sand pit she struggled desperately as she aimed higher each time, the sun towering up in the sky, so big that it burned right through her.

Reaching the top of the pit she gasped for open air as she flopped to the ground already weakened.

Glancing up there was nothing but open space for miles and miles, the hills of sand the only distinctive occurrence.

The sand whipped around her and she felt unclean as it clung to her sweat covered skin and she closed her eyes to fight off the sting she felt from the grainy bits.

There was nothing but silence around her; a hollowness that ate at her despite the open landscape.

She was alone.

Standing to her feet she swallowed dryly and turned around hesitantly, looking for what she wasn’t sure of.

Behind her a small hut appeared, a pair of sand covered steps leading into the dark entrance.

Feeling drawn to it, she stepped forward despite the weakness she felt and welcomed the coolness of the shadows.

Her bare hand rested against the inside of the bricks that made the small hut and she rested for a moment.

“Who’s there?” she gasped.

A match sparked to life in the middle of the darkness and a torch was lit in the middle of the room and the others burst into flame along the walls touched by some unseen breath forming a circle.

“Take a rest my child,” a faded feminine voice spoke up as a figure clad in a brown hooded cloak stepped into the circle of the room.

She staggered forward.

“You have journeyed far and yet you have remained the same.”

“I don’t understand,” she gasped.

The hooded figure reached behind them upon a small altar and brought a wooden bowl forward filled with water.

“Drink the life, my child.”

Hesitantly, her figures reached forward and sipped at the bowl eagerly, feeling the water cool her dry throat.

“What is this place?”

“Do you not recognize the bones of your fellow kind?”

She shook her head in confusion and put the bowl down.

“The ashes blow across this land for it is the destiny of those who have befallen the way of the truth.”

Sand suddenly lifted up from the ground and whipped around the hooded figure.

“Destruction or Life that is the choice,” the hooded figure spoke, as their voice echoed louder and louder.

She felt afraid. Fear trembling up from the base of her spine and turning her blood cool with a paralyzing ease.

“I don’t understand,” she cried.

Abruptly the scenery around them changed as they remained in the circle of sand. Bodies lay dying around them as screams were heard in the distance. The sky was dark and red light beamed in the distance and large objects flew in the sky, blocking out the stars.

“What is it?” she gasped.

The hooded figure did not reply and remained still.

Two bright yellow lights flared to life in the sky and she opened her eyes wide in fear as a large mechanical beast stared down at her.

“Halt mutant,” the sentinel decreed.

“The end is near,” the hooded figure replied. “You must choose.”

“Take me away from this place,” she begged.

“I cannot,” the dark figure replied. “For it is waiting to happen.”

“Don’t show me anymore,” she cried and scrunched her eyes closed. “I’m not the one,” she whispered low. “I’m not the one.”

“Open your eyes child,” the hooded figure demanded.

Slowly, she did and she screamed in horror as the image around them changed again and ruins of cities lay before her. A lone figure hooded in black stood outside of the circle but did not move. Stumbling to her feet in odd fascination she approached the edge.

“What is this place?” she gasped.

The black hooded figure turned suddenly and a strangled gasp caught in her throat as she stepped back. A much older version of herself stood staring back at her, her eyes a swirl of colours and rage. Familiar gloved hands created orbs of yellow light and threw them off into the distance at a decrepit building. The walls of the building crumbled immediately.

“This is our home,” the older version of her spoke in a cold detached manner. “Our playground,” she murmured.

“For it is foretold,” the hidden feminine voice spoke up behind her.

“No, no,” she gasped and stepped back.

She was stopped short as she felt a touch on her shoulder. Glancing down she was startled again when she realized a bone hand was touching her. The touch of death. The hooded woman turned her around and pulled her hood down.

Falling to her knees, she glanced up in awe, at the strange woman with a bald head and eyelids that were sown shut.

“For it is foretold,” the strange woman whispered. “The choice is yours.”

“No...” she gasped again and the images around the circle flickered again and again, too quickly for her to focus on the flash of colours.

The hooded woman reached down towards the ground and lifted a handful of sand in vain as the tiny grains trickled down quickly through her skeleton hand.

“The words are there and so are the sands of time,” the woman’s voice rose up. “But that which is yet to pass cannot be known for it is not written in the wind...”

The sand whipped around faster and faster and the woman’s voice was fading and she struggled to hear but something grabbed her from behind and jolted her back into the darkness.


Rogue awake with a violent jerk and found herself hitting her shoulder against the wall of the booth in response. She scrunched her eyes closed as she tried to focus, the bump to her shoulder the least of her worries.

“Rogue.”

She gasped and sat up straight as she blinked twice and focused on a concerned Logan who was sitting across from her. He looked unsettled.

“Logan,” she gasped.

She tried to smile but her hands trembled underneath the table.

“You startled me,” she added. “I must have dozed off.”

Small lines in his forehead creased as he frowned.

“You looked like you were having a nightmare,” he replied shortly and his eyes didn’t waver from her face.

She tried to shake his concern off with a smile but found her nerves were shot.

“Was it one of mine?” he asked quietly.

A sharp empty laugh escaped her so quickly that could have been easily been mistaken for a sob. “No....no,” she mumbled and looked him in the eye. “My nightmares are all my own now.”

“I’m fine really, Logan,” she spoke up after he remained silent. “Is there something you wanted?”

“You’re not fine,” he replied. “Your heart is still racing a mile a minute; I’m surprised it isn’t bursting out of your chest.”

Her plastered smile faltered.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she whispered. “It’s nothing, Logan,” she added again, trying to sound stern.

Bringing her hand up she reached for her glass and tried to steady her nerves but she knew it was pointless with Logan. Her glass was empty.

“Here,” he spoke up. “Have some water.”

She frowned at his overt concern but pulled the glass of water closer to her. “Thanks,” she muttered.

She wanted to rub her temples, as her head pounded with aftershocks of her nightmare but the action would only draw more of Logan’s attention.

Clearing her throat gently she reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette, hoping it would help calm her nerves.

Logan’s frown deepened.

“Why do you smoke those things?”

“My vices make living what its worth,” she replied and found she had enough strength for a small smirk finally.

His eyes narrowed and she waited for another retort but he sat back in his seat. “Get another damn better brand then,” he muttered. “Besides I thought you liked cigars.”

She pointed the cigarette at him. “Correction, you like cigars.”

At her words his frown not only deepened if possible but a mixture of shame slipped into it.

She sighed and glanced away. After absorbing Logan she had acquired his taste for cigars and still to this day she enjoyed them but they held to much sentimental power for her. She’d even associated the smell of a fine cigar with Logan even before he’d given her his power. She’d been fascinated by them when he smoked one. She remembered once, after Logan had left the first time after Liberty Island Scott had found her smoking one on the roof of the mansion, she remembered his shocked face clearly and it made her smile fondly.

Logan’s head tilted up and his interest was piqued again as he no doubt caught her fond smile. Quickly, she frowned and put the cigarette in her mouth.

“Marie,” he began quietly.

She turned and glanced up at him, and pulled the cigarette out.

“Yes,” she murmured.

“I’m worried about you,” he replied and looked her right in the eye.

Her mouth dropped open a little and she automatically felt her defenses go up but he continued on before she had a chance.

“I know maybe that’s not something you want to hear,” he muttered and glanced away for a moment. He too appeared overwhelmed by the emotion in his words as a few small lines creased along his forehead. “And I don’t mean about what you’re doing exactly – it’s just – something appears to be bothering you personally and affecting you.”

“Everyone has something going on with them Logan, that’s the way life is.”

He nodded.

“I just want you to know, even though you don’t want to hear it, I’m willing to find out what you need,” he added, the words caught behind clenched teeth but his eyes were clear.

Her heart continued to beat thunderously inside her chest.

“You want to help me?” she reiterated in disbelief.

He nodded again.

Logan just had a habit of catching her off guard. She wanted to believe but she was a different kind of girl and right now she was weary of a lot of possibilities.

“Logan, in case you didn’t get the memo,” she began. “When I left, I relieved you of your promise to me.”

He watched her for a moment and she couldn’t gauge what he was thinking.

“You make my promise sound like an obligation,” his voice was tense and he sounded offended.

She shrugged.

“I made that promise because I care about you, because you’re my friend, because...”

She laughed bitterly and tried to focus on her anger to get her through the hurricane of emotions she felt over taking her.

“Friends, Logan?” she echoed darkly. “I hardly saw you. You were just somebody who came along and played hero for a while. You were already prime X-Men material.” And if she said it enough she thought she just might believe it more and more each day herself.

He shook his head at her and he was furious. “That’s not how it was and you know it.”

She smirked at him and opened her mouth to reply but he interrupted her sharply. “Just stop it.”

Narrowing her eyes at him she slipped out of the booth quickly.

“Here’s a new promise for you, Logan,” she muttered as she walked by him. “I promise you, you don’t have to worry yourself with looking out for me anymore.”

She continued to walk away without looking back as she made her way for the STAFF door. If she kept walking and she focused on how many steps were ahead of her, she knew she would make it in time before she felt her frayed nerves and mixed emotions over take her.

Her head swam with every one of Logan’s words, expressions and his actions and she felt the beat of her heart increase. She tried to steady her breathing and as she reached the door, her heartbeat continued to rise in its rhythm and the weight of the journal she’d taken weighed heavily in her jacket pocket over her heart, dragging her down further and further.

Nightmares for Rogue were complicated. It was a simple fact that was problematic for her. There were different strains of nightmare life that could scurry through her brain like a crowded train terminal. There were the nightmares of those she had touched in the past, most particularly Logan and Magneto. There were her own nightmares that were a life all on their own, a blend of suppressed memories, fears and the destiny that hovered around her.

Sighing heavily she dropped onto the big leather couch and glanced in mild amusement at the new plaster and brick work of the wall she had previously created an exit through. Dangling the bottle of Jack Daniels from her fingers she stretched out on the couch and glanced up at the ceiling, hoping to find some semblance of relaxation that had a habit of evading her so often.

She was afraid to close her eyes. Afraid of what her mind and subconscious would come up with next. Rubbing her forehead she sipped at the bottle and tried to forget the book in her jacket pocket. She could feel the diary resting over her heart like a medieval shield but instead of protecting her, she found it felt like a noose tightening around her very essence.

She wondered why Mystique had given it back to her to hold on to. The other mutant had an unnatural obsession with the books. She on the other hand was just curious, but cautiously curious. In her own way Mystique was trying to show her, that she trusted her but she wondered how long that would last.

Remy asked her what made her a believer but she wasn’t so sure she was one. Her ties to the search of the books came down to the fact that family was concerned. She’d been raised in part by the mutant Destiny known as Irene Adler and though her memories were vague she wondered how important she had been.

She wanted to ignore the notion of prophecies and the fate of humanity but there was something that tugged at her soul that told her, her refusal would cost her. She could already feel it haunting her and it had haunted her since Mystique had brought the Books of Truth up.

She knew that originally there had been at least eight diaries filled with Destiny’s prophecies, conceived since the time her mutation had manifested and she’d lost her physical sight only to gain a more supernatural one. They’d been lost or destroyed over time; stolen by those who wished to understand their power but failed.

Mystique had only a few pages left from what had been the fourth diary in her possession and Rogue had made the mistake of trying to read them. The words at first had not made any sense to her, ramblings of what she considered an unstable woman and yet something had stuck in her mind because images haunted her, images she’d never thought of until she’d unlocked some kind of power inside of her in partaking in a small piece of Destiny’s words.

The dreams didn’t come to Mystique. She asked once and although she tried to hide it, the other mutant knew she was experiencing them herself and somehow that made Mystique only more ambitious in gaining them all back in her possession. She said it was her duty to protect them and she believed her despite her concerns because one thing she remembered most of all from her childhood was that she felt loved once by the two mutants and she knew that they had loved each other.

Closing her eyes she tried to concentrate, tried to call up a forgotten memory of her own. Tried to call back that warmth and safety she must have felt as a child. She felt her body become lighter and her mind turned hazy as bright images danced behind her eyelids slowly and unobtrusively.
She could see an older woman with short dark hair who smiled at her often and whose face was always open towards her despite the dark sunglasses she always wore. The warm sun beamed behind the woman known as Irene Adler and created an effortless glow around her body as she stood within the garden and nodded in her direction.

“Marie,” Irene whispered softly. “Come here, my little Marie,” she called again.

Irene stepped closer and closer towards her and she felt a calmness spread throughout her. Irene opened her arms wide and moved to hug her and she leapt up, eager for the touch and familiarity.

But suddenly Irene’s form became too big and the brightness of the sun disappeared as she felt threatened by the impending shadow. She felt like she was about to be suffocated and she screamed, “No!”

Waking up with a start Rogue pushed up and out towards the shadow that loomed over her. A loud crash followed.

“Shit,” she heard a muffled voice from behind the couch.

Quickly, realizing her mistake, Rogue glanced over the couch and her eyes widen immediately. The cobwebs of her brief dream disappeared at the scene before her.

“Logan!” she exclaimed and jumped off the couch.

Hurrying across the room, feeling sudden shame that she’d thrown him so far and into the wall, where she could she a new formed dent.

“Jesus, kid,” he muttered as he started to stumble to his feet.

Nervous and surprised she didn’t think about it as she moved to help him up.

“I’m sorry,” she stuttered. “I am- it’s just...” she trailed off and looked away. “You really need to be careful Logan; you shouldn’t sneak up on me like that when I’m asleep.”

“No kidding,” he muttered and cracked his neck as everything seemed to be in order.

His hand was resting on her back, still left over from when she’d helped him up but he didn’t appear in a hurry to remove his touch.

“I guess we’re even now,” he added with a small rough chuckle.

She frowned. “It’s not funny, Logan.”

“No it’s not,” he replied. “I didn’t think it was funny when I put my claws through your chest either, but you have to admit there is some irony in this.”

“I guess,” she muttered and slipped out of his grip.

Rubbing her arms self-consciously she walked back around and sat on the couch.

“I’m sorry,” he spoke up after a moment, not moving behind her. “I shouldn’t have bothered you; you actually looked peaceful for a moment.”

Her gloved hand trailed up and brushed against her cheek as she tried to recall a mother’s touch.

“It’s alright,” she whispered heavily.

Taking a deep breath she tried to push everything behind her again and she began to focus on the reason Logan was presently in her company, after she’d bluntly told him to buzz off. She knew he was stubborn and oddly even though she wasn’t annoyed by his presence she was exasperated that clearly he wasn’t backing down.

“I figured I should let you know that Storm called and we’re going to hit Graydon’s in an hour or so. Security is a bit more uptight during the night shift but there will be a less chance of having any civilians get in the way.”

She nodded slowly as he sat down across from her.

“That sounds best,” she muttered.

She leant back against the couch and felt worn out all of a sudden, the past few events finally taking their toll on her and she glanced at Logan who was watching her and she found she didn’t want to pretend anymore, he knew she was making an effort to appear a certain way and it was all in vain where he was concerned, he seemed to see right through her.

“What do you think makes a man like Graydon hate mutants so much?” he spoke up suddenly, his eyes darting around the room, a frown of disgust on his face at the decor, his nose twitching amusingly but she was more entertained by his attempt at being a conservationist.

Her eyes widen and when she saw that he was serious she couldn’t help it as she burst out into laughter.

“What?” he snarled, as though he thought she was making fun of him.

“It’s not you,” she waved him off as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “It’s just you really don’t have any idea, do you?”

He gave her a questioning look. “I think I’ve admitted that Rogue,” he stressed her name again, a sign of remarkable restraint. “I’ve been asking questions since you landed in the shed.”

“You’ve asked too big of questions, Logan,” she replied seriously.

His eyes narrowed and he appeared to comprehend what she meant but he still sat back with a defeated sigh. “I don’t know what to ask of you anymore that won’t push you away farther.”

Her fingers twitched nervously over her thighs as she was shocked by his admission.

“I suppose that’s fair,” she whispered.

Tapping her knees she stood up suddenly and started to pace.

“Sometimes the simple moment of birth, defines who people will be. Mutant, non-mutant,” she rambled for a moment but Logan remained quiet.

“Graydon hates mutants because he got the short straw.”

She turned back to glance at Logan but he remained quiet.

“I guess you only remember his father by the name the X-Men know him as.”

He still remained quiet but his gaze deepened with a blend of interest and confusion.

Walking towards the back of the couch she tapped her fingers against it.

“Who do you mean, Rogue?” he growled through his teeth.

She smirked. “Graydon Creed is the son of one Victor Creed.”

She waited a beat but she saw no recognition in his eyes.

“Victor Creed who was last known as Sabretooth and was working for the Brotherhood.”

Logan’s eyes widened in response on cue and she nodded rigidly and stepped back as she paced again.

“You can’t be serious?”

“I’ve tried to tell you before Logan, I haven’t really been lying to you.” She turned around and made a little space between her thumb and forefinger. “It’s the things I’m leaving out that have you confused.”

“I know,” he growled low and he glared at her for a moment.

“It gets better though,” she began again. “Graydon Creed is not only the son of Sabretooth but also,” she paused and stared at him. “Mystique.”

“What?” he bellowed as he stood up immediately.

His eyes darted around the room as he sorted through the new information and his hand ran through his hair absently but she knew the question was coming and she didn’t have to see the conclusion in his eyes, so she turned back around.

“Then-then he’s your brother as well,” he whispered.

Biting her lower lip, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she faced him again.

“That’s not exactly true.”

“What?” he blurted out again.

Moving back around the room she sat back down on the couch and waited for him to sit back down again. His hazel eyes took a few seconds to settle as his legs stiffly buckled and he sat down.

“I’m not biologically related to Graydon.”

“Is..is Sabretooth your father?” he blurted out again and she could tell he was suddenly on edge, the implications spinning around behind his eyes, she knew she was losing his focus.

“No,” she snapped back. “Dear God no.”

He appeared to relax a little at her answer.

“Logan,” she began and shifted forward. “I did kind of lie about something before.”

Licking her lips she glanced down at the table between them. “Mystique was my step-mother.”

His eyes ticked but he remained silent. She sighed and tried to think of what to say next. There was no need to explain why she’d said Mystique was her mother and made him believe it was by blood, it was all about a little self-hate on her part.

“She raised me with another woman,” she began softly and her eyes became distracted. “A mutant named, Destiny. I’m not entirely sure from how young of an age but I believe I was in their care until I was about six.”

“I don’t know who my real parents are; for a long time I thought the parents I’d left behind in Meridian were my real family.”

“Why didn’t you know?” he asked and the softness in his voice startled her.

She looked up at him and gave him a tight smile and she didn’t pretend she didn’t see the worry in his eyes.

“My memories were altered somehow, so that I would forget and I’d been so young.”

“Do you know why?”

“I was told it had been for my protection.”

“I’m sorry, Marie.”

She shook her head and smiled at him. “Knowing your past Logan isn’t as great as you seem to think it is.”

Leaning forward over the table he focused on her. “You’re not like her, Marie.”

She bit her bottom lip and kept the tears back. “I’m a mosaic of people Logan.”

He shook his head sharply. “You adapt, Rogue. The person who you feel is you, who you define as Marie, will always be in there and you were that woman long before you even knew about Mystique.”

She nodded again and glanced at her gloved hands. “She saved my life, Logan. She was my mother once, I can’t ignore that.”

“She also handed you over to Magneto, what kind of mother does that?” he replied as his voice rose in anger.

“I can’t make you understand this, Logan,” she whispered. “But-I appreciate what you said. I don’t define myself by Mystique but there are ties you don’t know of.”

“Then make me understand, damnit!” he snapped. “You sound like you’ve given up on something.”

She rubbed her hands together and knew he was right. She’d given up hoping she belonged in his world.

“Do you want me to be an X-Men, is that it, Logan?”

“You were an X-Men.”

She smirked at him and raised her head. “Yes, I was.”

Slowly, she pulled one glove off and glanced at her pale skin. Logan didn’t pull back and he didn’t act afraid and although she always appreciated that about him, her skin was always an issue for her.

“Xavier always said I had a bright future.”

“Did you know that he and I use to have private meetings all the time, he’d invite me into his study and he’d talk with me and debate with me about the classics of literature or play a game of chess with me and all along I thought it was because he truly cared, because he truly believed I was like all his other X-Men,” she paused and her stare turned harsh. “But he did it all because he was afraid.”

“Everything he ever did for me was out of fear.”

“Fear that I would take up another cause other than his. Fear that one day I wouldn’t be afraid of my skin and my power. Afraid I would leave where he couldn’t watch over me, because that is what he did every day while I thought he was trying to be my friend, my saviour,” she spat.

“I believe in the dream, Logan, but I won’t ever believe in the man, the man that I knew.”

Logan didn’t contradict her and she slipped her glove back on.

“Why was he afraid?”

“Aren’t you?” she retorted. “Weren’t you afraid I was Brotherhood?”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“No, no I suppose not in the same, you never feared my power.”

“You’re skin was never an issue for me.”

“I know,” she replied. “But you’re missing the point. Xavier believed I was part of something bigger than his X-Men.”

“Like what?”

She reached into her jacket and pulled the small diary out and threw it on the table between them. The thud of the book hitting the table sounded much louder to her ears.

“Xavier wasn’t a man who could ignore the calling of power anymore than Magneto.”

Reaching forward Logan grazed the front of the cover. “Go on,” she instructed. “You can look at it; it really isn’t much on its own.”

“What is it?” he asked as he opened it.

“I told you before Logan; it’s a book of prophecies.”

His eyebrow rose up at her from behind the book and placed it in his lap.

“Xavier was a man of science but there’s a reason he was interested in that book. It was written by a mutant with the power of foresight.”

“He thought that it might be true then,” he gasped in surprise.

She nodded and stood up as she started to pace again.

“There were eight books once, but they were destroyed over time, some by the mutant herself, fearing the danger of them falling into the wrong hands. Only three intact copies remain. Each diary by itself doesn’t make much sense but if you have more than one, it is said that you can trace the patterns of thought together.”

“And Mystique wants them,” he muttered to himself. “And you’re helping her get them, aren’t you,” he demanded suddenly.

“Yes, Logan I am,” she replied confidently. “Because she has a right to them, where Xavier did not. He never told anyone about it, why do you think that is?”

He stood up and held the book in his hand. “You said you had a right to this.”

“I did, didn’t I?”

“Rogue,” he growled in warning.

“The books were written by a mutant named Destiny, Logan. The woman also known as Irene Adler, who was once my step-mother and who was for a very long time Mystique’s lover. Destiny left them for Mystique to protect when she died.”

When Logan appeared speechless she carried on. “So you can see why I might harbor some hard feelings towards Xavier because Logan,” she paused and continued on carefully, making sure she had his full attention. “Just like Xavier kept things from you about your past and just like he kept the Phoenix from all of us and Jean, he kept my past from me. He knew and he never told me.”

Logan opened the book again and looked up at her in agitation. “It’s just a bunch of scribbles. Why would he hide all of that?”

She shrugged. “To harness the power of the future is to understand Destiny’s words and I believe Xavier like you as well, did not have the gift to achieve such a notion.”

“We’ll know for sure with you whether or not the pages have impacted you in anyway if the dreams come,” she whispered.

Stepping closer she tentatively grabbed the book from his hand and he let her slip it away from his grip.

“Do you..?” he whispered in awe.

“The dreams never stop,” she replied back quietly. “But that doesn’t mean I believe in it.”

“Xavier thought I had some role to play in these Books of Truth but he and I differ on one thing, I will not let a prophecy dictate who I am meant to be.”

“That bastard,” Logan seethed and she looked at him in surprise.

“It’s alright, Logan. I’ve come to terms with it, just like we all had to come to terms with the Phoenix.”

She stuffed the book back in her jacket.

“Besides, Xavier wasn’t a bad man, he just wasn’t the fine example that people believed but sometimes in order to believe in something bigger than ourselves we need someone to follow. It would have been an effort on his part to keep me there all along just to hide me away from the rest of the world, I don’t doubt he generally cared for me and he just thought he was doing the right thing for me, like he had for Jean and like he had for you.”

“I was wrong you know.”

“What?” She turned around in surprise.

“I thought you’d just become this bitter woman, but really you’ve just learned to see the world in a way other’s are so ignorant to. You’ve grown so much.”

She smiled at him.

“You say that like it’s a good thing.”

“I’ve always believed in you, Marie,” he replied with heavy emotion and it forced her to glance away for a moment, not because she was startled but she suddenly felt shy.

“Do the books have anything to do with Graydon?”

“No,” she replied sharply.

His hazel eyes gazed at her for a moment and he nodded once and headed for the door.

“I hope one day, you can relearn you don’t have to lie to me anymore, Marie.”

“No,” he stated bluntly with no room for argument.

“It is a direct order, Logan,” Storm replied not backing down.

Folding his arms and eyeing Colossus who was seating in the pilot’s seat he motioned for him to leave with a jerk of his head. Silently, Pete stood up and walked towards the back of the jet where he passed Bobby who merely followed him knowingly and joined the rest of the group who were waiting outside.

“You know I respect ya ‘Ro, but this is just plain stupid.”

Storm’s eyes flared to life and Logan thought he heard thunder rumble in the distance but the night sky still looked clear through the back of the jet.

“Have you forgotten the present situation, Logan?” she began tightly, her voice strong and never wavering. “This is not a few years ago where it would be normal for you to be Rogue’s partner on a mission.”

“I know that,” he rumbled. “This is more than about protection.”

Delicately, Storm raised one eyebrow but didn’t back down.

“Is it really?” she questioned with sudden high authority. “Where Rogue is considered your priorities have always been about protecting her at any cost and despite the changes to our circumstances I have seen no difference in your actions.”

He frowned at her. “I’ve never attempted to hide it. You know that and she knows that.”

“Then what is the problem, Logan? Rogue is highly capable of taking care of herself.”

He snorted. “That’s the problem.”

“I need you on the offense with Kitty, Logan. Kitty is the one who needs to get to where the data is stored and I know you will do everything in your means to make sure that happens and that she has the time to do it.”

He scowled at her.

“You and Kitty will be taking the most direct route in. Mystique and I will be taking the south side and Rogue and Jubilee will enter from the roof, so that all security points can be disabled.”

“I can handle Mystique, Logan,” she added tersely.

“But who will be watching Rogue?”

She blinked suddenly and he knew she was surprised by his tone. “I mean it Storm; it’s more than about protecting her. You know that other agenda I was talking about, I think it’s about to happen here right now and you have only Jubilee to make sure she doesn’t change the plan.”

She glanced down at the ramp and turned back to face him.

“Do you not think that did not cross my mind, Logan?”

“I ain’t implying your stupid ‘Ro.”

“No, but you are questioning my decisions.”

He growled and glanced away, knowing she was right but feeling he couldn’t back down.

“She will be teamed with Jubilee, Logan, don’t you realize what that means.”

“Yeah,” he grunted. “It means Sparky will be too busy gossiping.”

Storm frowned. “I do hope Jubilee never hears you speak of her in such a way about her role as an X-Men.”

He scowled, even though he felt a little remorse at his comment.

“Rogue will not allow Jubilee to come to harm. She respects Jubilee and she may even see her as a friend. If Rogue is about to double cross us she won’t do it at the cost of injuring Jubilee.”

“But if she was teamed with anyone else, she’d throw us to the dogs is that what you’re saying?”

Storm only shook her head at him. “You know that is not what I mean, Logan. There is no tension between Jubilee and Rogue and we need this to go smoothly and for that to happen I need you to stop brooding like a five year old over the fact that I’ve assigned you a different partner,” she finished with commanding authority.

Dropping his arms to his sides he scowled at her for a moment before nodding and walking away. “You’re one tough lady, ‘Ro.”

“It gets the job done,” she muttered.

He paused and glanced over his shoulder. “You always get the job done, Storm, I never question that.”

She nodded at him but didn’t smile and he continued on knowing the burden Storm had taken on after Scott’s death. She was a more then a capable leader but he knew when it came down to it the job weighed on her heavily; she didn’t like being the bad guy. It had always been so easy antagonizing Scott and sometimes he even felt the guy had deserved it but with Storm he hated having to get in her face, he hated the fact that it was who he was to question everything and right now he wasn’t so secure in the knowledge that he wouldn’t be with Rogue for most of the mission. It was natural in him to be worried about her, he found the instinctual protectiveness he felt for her had never disappeared but he was concerned about the things she had left out.

The tip off was that for the first time since he’d encountered her in the last few days she was nervous.

It kind of scared him to death to know that the strong and confident woman he’d come to re-encounter over the past few days was nervous and edgy.

Stepping off of the ramp he nodded at Pete and Bobby.

“Make sure you keep an eye out for any incoming company and stay in contact for back up.”

They both nodded and headed back inside of the jet.

Kitty, Jubilee, Mystique and Rogue stood around in a semi-circle on top of Creed Industries.

“About time,” Mystique drawled.

He scowled at her, his upper lip twitching but she continued to smirk at him.

“Everybody ready?” Storm inquired from behind him.

Everyone nodded.

“Remember to keep the comm links open,” she instructed and pressed hers into her ear.

Logan clenched his fist and felt the leather of his uniform strain and he popped his claws, feeling his usual eagerness at a mission bleed into him. He glanced at Rogue who had been silent since they’d regrouped and she was gazing off in the distance. She must have felt his eyes on her as she tilted her face towards him and smiled lightly.
He nodded, but it still didn’t hide the fact that she was anxious.

“Let’s move,” Storm instructed and she and Mystique moved to the south side of the roof.

Logan watched as Mystique morphed into a security guard, her blue scales blending together as her skin took on the appearance of the familiar clothing they’d seen Creed’s guards wear before. Her body growing bigger as the broad shoulders of a middle aged man took shape. She looked like a completely different person and yet Logan could only stare at her in loathing, knowing the person that really lay below the surface.

Storm took Mystique’s new male hand and lifted them into the sky as they descended over the edge with Storm’s ability to call on the winds.

“Are you ready?” Rogue spoke up behind him.

“Yeah, let’s do this.”

“I’ll be right back,” she directed to Jubilee who nodded patiently.

Walking towards the other side of the roof, Kitty peered over the edge nervously.

“If you don’t let go you’ll be fine,” Rogue spoke as she stepped beside Kitty and glanced below. “You might even enjoy it.”

Kitty smiled nervously at her. “I guess I’d always wanted to know what it was like to fly,” she mumbled. “Just don’t let go,” she added sternly and looked Rogue dead on.

“I promise,” Rogue replied with a genuine smile Logan recognized.

Kitty nodded and her shoulders relaxed a little even though she still glanced down to the street below again.

“You sure you can carry me?” he asked her.

She turned and faced him and a light wind caught in her hair as the brown locks drifted around her face delicately and he was fixated for a moment on it.

“I thought you’d realize you weigh next to nothing for me, after the couch incident.”

He smirked a little. “Can’t be too careful about these things, darlin’.”

The word had slipped out but she didn’t make a fuss as the small smile remained on her face. Almost jokingly she looked over the edge and back to him. “You’d survive,” she whispered wryly as she leant closer.

One of her white locks of hair caressed the side of his face and her scent was so strong he was dazed for a moment.

“That be a mess,” he muttered hoarsely, looking over the edge.

She laughed lightly and though for a moment she appeared at ease with him, he could still sense a twitching life below her skin that continued to make him believe he had reasons to be uneasy about the set up of the mission.

“Come on then,” she commanded lightly and reached for both of their hands.

Kitty squeaked abruptly as Rogue lifted them both up in the air and they descended over the edge of the building and floated down to the ground of the deserted alley.

Glancing at the small delicate gloved hand that was holding his, he was amazed that it was the only thing holding him up in the air. It was a little unreal. Having a 200 pound metal skeleton made him very aware of the effect of gravity but as Rogue appeared in full control he revelled in the feel of the night wind on his face as he experienced something he thought wasn’t possible.

“Open your eyes, Logan,” Rogue’s voice called to him. “We’re about to land.”

Surprised that he’d closed his eyes, he opened them slowly as the ground rose up at them but at a gentle speed as Rogue set them all down lightly.

“Whoa,” Kitty whispered.

Logan glanced at her and noticed she was a little green but her eyes were wide with a rush of excitement.

“That’s kind of cool,” Kitty added with a shy smile at Rogue.

Rogue took Kitty’s attitude in stride and smiled back.

“Yeah, I suppose it is.”

“Good luck,” she whispered to him as she turned back around.

“Wait,” he stopped her with a low whisper, his hand grazing her arm.

She looked at him in concern.

He knew now was not the time to question her actions and he found the words caught in his throat. Squeezing her arm gently, he whispered the only thing that came to him without a fight, “Be careful.”

“You too,” she replied and took up off into the night again as she headed back for the roof.

“You ready Half-pint?”

Kitty nodded at him and grabbed his hand as she fazed them through the building. Inside the building he found they were in what appeared to be a supply closet. Slinking towards the door he slowly opened it and glanced around. Scanning the dimmed open lobby of Creed Industries and the one guard who sat at the security desk with his back towards them he glanced half over his shoulder and smirked at Kitty. “Not bad,” he whispered.

Shutting the door again so they would make less noise, Kitty fazed them through the door and the shadows that crossed the lobby hid them as they crouched forward.

“You got this one,” he muttered over his shoulder.

Kitty nodded and disappeared through the floor. Flattening himself against the wall, Logan waited and watched. A feral smirk appeared on his face as the guard started to whistle to himself, completely oblivious.

He spotted Kitty again under the desk and the guard abruptly flew out of his seat and before a gasp could escape him they both disappeared under the floor. He waited a moment and Kitty popped back up under the desk and gave him a thumbs up. Slowly, she moved out from the desk and made sure to keep her head down as she stuck a device into the security system panel. After a few seconds she stood up and he walked forward to join her.

“Cameras are now on a loop.”

“Good.”

Kitty reached up and taped her comm link. “Cameras are now frozen,” she spoke clearly.

Tip-toeing forward across the lobby, he watched as Kitty counted her steps and suddenly spun on one particular spot. Walking towards her he grabbed her hand again.

“You better be right about this, Pryde. I don’t want to end up in the ladies washroom again.”

“That only happened once,” she shot back with mild embarrassment.

“Once is enough.”

She shook her head at him.

“I memorized the floor plans, this is the spot.”

“Then let’s go,” he instructed and narrowed his eyes.

Without another word she fazed them both through the floor and down.

Landing in a crouch on the floor he glanced around the room and gave Kitty a satisfied nod. The large white room was humming with the pulse of technological power as the walls were lined with large metallic boxes that murmured and blinked with alternate colours.

Standing up, he whistled low. “This must have been expensive.”

Kitty wandered over closer to examine them further. “This is what he was hiding on the initial scan of the building. He doesn’t want anyone to know how much power he is reserving.”

He wandered over towards the door and listened for anyone approaching but movement outside of the room was still and the air was stale. No one appeared to be around in the lower level.

He sniffed. “It smells like hardly anyone has been down here.”

“Maybe, in this area,” Kitty replied. “He probably only has a few people working on the project until he goes public. They re-circulate new air down here, to keep the machines cool and sterile.”

Kitty ran her hand over one of the large black boxes.

“It’s not the mainframe though; this is just a power source. We need to find where he’s keeping the data.”
He walked forward and released one set of claws. “Let’s destroy it.”

“No,” she hissed urgently and stepped in front of him. “Not yet,” she began, her long brown ponytail shaking furiously behind her as she shook her head. “Not yet, it could tip off the security and there might be a backup system if there’s any noticeable foul play.”

He relaxed his hand and his claws slid back in. “I knew there was a reason we kept you around Half-pint.”

She frowned at him but he turned back and motioned her to follow him through the door. Once they were out in the hallway he signalled her to stay behind him and against the wall. Even though his senses couldn’t pick up on anyone, he still felt the need to be cautious. Moving forward quickly, they passed a few vacant rooms that looked like small labs or storage rooms. One in particular looked like a meeting room and he wondered who else knew about the sentinel project.

“Over there,” Kitty whispered behind him.

He focused on the frosted glassed doors and nodded. Kitty glanced up and he followed her gaze as they spotted the power cables that all connected in front of the doors.

“This is it,” he muttered and paused to press his ear against the door, but he heard nothing but the pulsing hum of the power center.

Opening the door, he walked through and found the light switch on the wall. White light flickered to life revealing a large room, filled with multiple stations of work areas and right in the middle was another large black box were the power pulsed even louder.

Kitty rushed forward and sat at the large computer screen beside the power source. Pressing a few buttons the computer burst to life.

“All this power for one computer,” he mumbled.

“If Mystique and Rogue are absolutely right, then Graydon hasn’t acquired all that he needs to get the prototype off the ground, his first insurance would be to set up a work area, such as this and to make sure he had enough power to do what he says he can. To already have that off the ground, I’m sure it’s helped back him more support in funding.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, feeling disgusted at the use of such money.

He spotted the elevator doors wearily across the room and was un-nerved when he noticed the lights were flickering above it.

“Wolverine,” Storm’s voice hummed in his ear.

“Yeah,” he responded touching the link.

“Mystique and I are coming down in the elevator. Everything is clear so far. We dispatched four guards already.”

“Good.”

He watched as the doors dinged and Mystique back to her natural form walked out sleekly by a stern looking Storm.

“How are we doing?”

“It should take me one more minute to hack in,” Kitty replied without turning away from the computer.

“Whoa,” Kitty gasped suddenly and all three of them hovered over her as file after file popped up on the screen.

“Graydon’s been a busy boy,” Mystique spoke up. Logan glared at her back, knowing the truth of her relation to Graydon only made his dislike for her stronger.

“I guess he takes after his mother, doesn’t he?” he whispered low in her ear.

Her blue back straightened and he knew he’d surprised her, but she stood up and recovered quickly as she smiled at him, knowingly. “Ah, so she told you,” she whispered back and stepped away as Kitty and Storm looked over the files. “What else did she tell you?”

He remained silent and he saw a flicker of curiosity flash through her yellow eyes.

“Does it really matter?” he replied low.

Her neon yellow eyes narrowed. “No, I suppose it doesn’t.”

Her lips grew wide and as she walked past him she leaned in and whispered slowly, “But don’t worry Rogue has many more surprises up her sleeves to keep you entertained for a while.”

“Seems to me like they’re all your secrets you blue bitch,” he spat back with an agitated growl.

“Logan,” Storm asked suddenly. “Is everything alright?”

She was watching the two of them with concern.

“Fine,” Mystique replied. “Isn’t that right, Wolverine?”

“Yeah, fine,” he grunted back and stepped away from her.

“Have you found the sentinel data yet?” he asked.

“Yes,” Kitty replied as her fingers danced across the keyboard furiously, the glow of the large screen cascading over her face. “But there’s more here than just stuff about the sentinel program,” she added gravely.

“Download everything,” Storm instructed.

Kitty inserted a device into the computer. “I’m downloading every single thing on his hard drive.”

Turning away from the computer Logan glanced around and his eyes focused on the elevator doors again. He wondered where Rogue and Jubilee were. He knew their first objective was to deal with any on-coming security and that communication over the comm links was to remain minimal in case of any interference. Knowing nothing appeared out of the ordinary he was still feeling hesitant.

“Done,” Kitty spoke up as she pulled the device out. “Want to do the honours Wolverine?”

“Gladly,” he smirked as he released his claws and smashed them through the computer, not caring about the few sparks.

“Let’s go,” Storm commanded.

Mystique suddenly wandered out from around the power source.

“What were you doing?” Storm demanded.

Unmindful of Storm’s tone, Mystique leaned over and placed a small circular object on what was left of the computer Logan had destroyed.

“Making sure it’s harder to re-build,” she replied. “These are his labs, Storm - the place he uses to harm our kind. I want to make it as hard as possible to get over this don’t you?”

Storm frowned but didn’t reply as she turned and headed for the elevator ignoring Mystique’s smug smirk.

He spotted the lights flashing above the elevator and he motioned for everyone to hide. Quickly, they moved, as Storm and Kitty hid behind a desk and both he and Mystique pushed themselves against the wall.

The elevator doors dinged open and a frazzled Jubilee stumbled out.

The young woman jumped slightly when she spotted Logan as he stepped into her view. She grabbed her chest and gasped. “Jesus,” she muttered.

He didn’t care that she seemed flustered there was only one thing on his mind. “Where’s Rogue?” he growled.

Jubilee swallowed and gaped at him. “Rogue she...she...,” she licked her lips. “Rogue she pushed me into the elevator and jumped out before I had a chance, she told me to meet you guys and she did something to the doors, and I couldn’t get them to open and she just took off...she,” she started to babble but she took a deep breath and continued. “She told me she was sorry.”

Logan snarled and whipped his harsh gaze around and focused it on Mystique, who remained calm.

“What did you get her to do?!” he yelled in her face but Mystique was unfazed.

“I came here to do this job, Wolverine I don’t know what you are talking about.”

He growled and got in her face. “Yeah, exactly, this was the job you came to do, but what was the job Rogue came here to do?”

Bobby’s frantic voice suddenly buzzed through their com links. “Guys, we’ve got company on the way. Three SUV’s are making their way to us and it’s not the police, but they’re in a hurry.”

“Friend’s of Humanity,” Logan snarled.

“You guys need to get out of there now,” Bobby added.

“Keep us updated Bobby,” Storm replied. “We’re moving.”

“But Rogue?” Jubilee gasped.

Storm glanced unsure at Logan and he felt her worry and hesitation at the situation.

“I will handle it.”

“Of course you will,” Mystique laughed at him. “You’ve always done such a good job of handling Rogue in the past haven’t you?”

“Listen, you bitch,” he snarled as he had his claws suddenly pressing into her neck in a flash. “I want nothing more than to be rid of you and you will pay for this...” he trailed off and whipped around to face Storm.

“Get everyone out and make sure she,” he emphasized by glaring at the blue mutant. “Goes nowhere and I don’t care what you have to do.”

“That seems reasonable,” Storm replied tightly and glared at her as well.

Mystique shrugged her shoulders. “That’s fine with me. We should be getting out of here anyways; these charges are set to go off in less than ten minutes.”

“You’re just a joy, you know that,” Jubilee snapped at Mystique.

In reply Mystique only raised both her eyebrows smugly.

Scowling, Logan entered the elevator and glanced back at his teammates. “Get moving. Pryde get everybody out.”

“Logan?” Storm called.

“I can handle it,” he replied again and the doors slammed shut.

The scowl didn’t fade from his face as he stood in the same spot, just waiting, waiting as he passed each floor. His body tense with anger. He shouldn’t have been surprised but it still ate at him to know Rogue had gone and proved him right. He had a feeling he knew what she was after, he just hoped she knew the price of her actions.

The elevator clanged suddenly as he got to the top floor and he noticed immediately that the doors were jammed, she’d used her strength to manipulate the metal. Releasing both claws, his nostrils flared as he took a deep breath and slammed his claws through the doors and with each slash, he felt the Wolverine in him come to life.

Rising up in the air towards the roof, Rogue tried to ignore the tight feeling that was building in her chest after Logan had told her to be careful. The words had been simple, but the message far greater and it was becoming harder and harder for her to try and define Logan as the man she wanted him to be in her present mind. He wasn’t supposed to care about her anymore. If he didn’t care, then she didn’t care.

She’d spent almost two years re-educating herself into a woman who was unaffected by the untamed wiles of men. But Logan was more than just charm; there appeared to be no tricks up his sleeves, he’d grown into an honest man who felt he didn’t have to hide who he was, even to her. He wasn’t afraid to show her how he felt but the problem was getting herself to learn how to believe in such promise again.

With an extra push of her power she rose above the roof and dropped lightly onto the edge. Glancing over her shoulder, she watched the street below and she felt the ground rise up at her abruptly. Closing her eyes she breathed deeply, knowing it was not the height that frightened her but the teetering edge she felt inside of her in knowing what she was about to do.

Dropping onto the roof she walked briskly towards Jubilee.

“You gunna take me for a ride sometime on Air Rogue?”

“Maybe,” she sassed back as an easy smile drifted onto her face as Jubilee’s openness helped calm her nerves for a moment. “But I don’t know if you can afford first class.”

Jubilee smirked and cracked her knuckles. “Let’s take down some mutant hating scum. You ready?”

Cocking her hip she raised one perfectly arched eyebrow.

“Isn’t it our duty to always be ready to take down mutant hating scum?”

“Just making sure you’re not rusty.”

Rolling her eyes she walked over towards the roof entrance. “Come on you, before you waste all your witty comebacks on me and not on the bad guys, that just be bad superhero etiquette.”

“What am I, an amateur?” Jubilee remarked as she stood across from her, waiting for the door to open, her palms open as tiny colourful bursts of energy hovered above her hands.

Grabbing the handle, she slowly opened the door and stepped forward before Jubilee in case of any on coming attack but the small staircase leading down to another door was empty. Tilting her head over her shoulder she smirked wide at her fellow comrade. It almost felt familiar. She focused on that comfortable aura of experience as she tried to forget the rising trepidation in her as she walked through the door, knowing she was crossing more than one threshold with her actions.

Mystique’s voice ringing in her ears as a constant reminder. You know what you are here to do, Rogue.

This was her badge to carry, her cross to bear. There was no turning back.

Descending the stairs quietly, she felt Jubilee’s constant presence behind her and she felt caught between two worlds. Her heart beat rose suddenly as she felt a moment of panic but as she caught sight of a shadow moving behind the frosted window of the oncoming door, she clamped the feeling down tightly and felt the building suspense of a mission and quickly remembered how to revel in the anticipation of a fight and her heart skipped forward in a rush of adrenaline and it was something she knew how to use to her advantage. The Rogue was ready.

She glanced back at Jubilee once more who nodded silently in communication that she was ready and Rogue smiled as she turned back and kicked the door wide open, as the hinges flew off from her strength.

“I think this is the part where we kick ass and take names, wouldn’t you say?”

“You’re absolutely right, chica,” Jubilee replied behind her as they heard approaching footsteps.

Clenching her fists with a feral smirk she leaned against the wall as she waited for the expected confrontation.

“What the hell was that?” a rough male voice yelled.

“I don’t know,” a female voice responded.

“Jesus!” the male exclaimed as Rogue heard them round the corner.

“What could have done that?”

“I don’t know Saunders,” the male replied and Rogue listened carefully as the rough sliding of fabric was heard as he unhitched his gun. “If anyone is there come out with your hands up!”

Stepping out from the small corridor, Rogue held her hands up above her head and smiled charmingly. “Is there a problem?”

Both guards’ eyes went wide at her presence but the fleeting look of surprise was quickly covered with matching glares. The female guard’s face was covered by a black cap but she’d slowly leveled her gun on Rogue as well.

“This is private property,” Saunders yelled across the hall.

“I’m aware of that,” Rogue replied as she took two more steps closer towards them.

“Halt,” the male commanded as he pulled the safety back on his gun. “I will shoot.”

His jaw was set and his eyes were focused on his target, but his fingers twitched along the gun and she knew he was nervous about the damage to the door, wondering what he was dealing with. Using their nervousness to her advantage she took one more step closer.

“We will shoot,” Saunders added again, her fingers were steadier on the gun.

“Don’t you think it be bad press to have a dead mutant in the proposed Senator’s building?”

Both of them blinked twice at her admission and the man’s jaw became clenched as hatred seeped into his gray eyes.

“Filthy mutant,” he spat.

Smiling, sympathetically she glanced down at the ground and lulled her head to the side to call over her shoulder, with one eye on the guards.

“Seems we’ve crashed the wrong party,” she called behind her.

“We?” the man hissed and the sound of a gun going off echoed off the walls but Rogue dodged the woman’s shot effectively and kicked out with a high kick and dislodged the man’s grip on his gun as it went sailing away.

Spinning around she caught the female’s arm and hit it as
she cried out and she was forced to drop her weapon. The man yelled behind her and she tossed the woman towards Jubilee who’d descended the stairs with a smirk.

Rogue briefly caught the image of Jubilee knocking the woman out quickly as she spun around and caught the man’s charge. Kicking him in the left knee he crumbled to the ground with a strangled grunt and she hit him square on the chin with a right hook that was effective in knocking him out.

Stepping back she smiled at Jubilee who approached her.

“I think these two should look into getting a better night job.”

“Jubes,” she sighed dramatically. “You’re supposed to say the quips when they’re conscious.”

Jubilee scrunched her nose up playfully. “I knew I forgot
something.”

Rogue laughed lightly and shook her head. A small buzzing sound interrupted their conversation as Kitty’s voice ringed through their com links, “Camera’s are now frozen.”

“Time to get a move on then,” Jubilee replied behind her.

Nodding silently, she glanced around the corner and noticed it was empty. Slowly, they walked on and Rogue kept one hand behind her as she indicated for Jubilee to stay covered. The shuffling of feet around the next corner tipped them off quickly and they crouched down.

“Sounds like two men,” Jubilee whispered.

Rogue peeked around the corner and spotted two male guards pacing in a small circle.

Leaning back against the wall she whispered, “Think you can handle it.”

“Sure thing, babe,” Jubilee whispered back with a smile and sent two burst of sparks up into the ceiling by the sprinkler system, of pink and yellow. The sprinkler’s hissed to life and water sprayed down immediately.

Two sets of feet rushed forward immediately and Rogue kicked out as she toppled the first man and Jubilee finished him off as she quickly knocked out the second one. Reaching up, unmindful of the small rain fall she yanked the sprinkler system out of the ceiling and it stopped working.

Quickly, moving along the next corridor they paused at the oncoming corner again.

“Another one,” Jubilee whispered beside her as they heard another guard pacing. “Why is there so much security on this level?”

Keeping quiet Rogue glanced around the corner and noticed the male guard walking absently in front of the elevator. His sturdy feet echoing off the expensive tiles as he dragged his boots back and forth. Glancing across from the elevator as the guard had his back to her; she noticed a particular door that answered both Jubilee’s question and her own forbidding challenge. In shiny gold letters Graydon Creed’s name was spelled out on a large oak door.

Leaning back against the wall she took a deep breath.

“You alright?” Jubilee whispered suddenly beside her.

“Yeah,” she replied back carefully and smirked at her. “Mind if I take this one.”

“All yours.”

Floating above the ground an inch or so, she glided around the corner and approached the bored guard silently. He’d just begun to whistle as he’d turned around but only the first note escaped his lips as Rogue knocked him out point blank.

“Nice,” Jubilee complimented her from behind.

Dropping back to the floor, Rogue was unable to hide the building frown on her face. Keeping her face forward she mumbled back, “Thanks.”

Jubilee stepped forward and around her without concern but Rogue’s eyes kept drifting towards Graydon’s office. She could feel beads of sweat pooling in the palm of her hands under her gloves and she closed her eyes as she clenched her fists and took another calming breath.

Stepping around her, Jubilee pressed the elevator button and it was hardly a minute before the doors dinged open. The young woman in front of her bounced into the elevator and leaned back against the inside of the box to smile at her. Stepping forward slowly, almost dragging her feet she entered and waited as the doors slowly started to slide closed.

“You’ll be fine if you head straight down to the others. The security will be making the rounds on each floor not paying attention to the elevators,” she spoke roughly.

“What?” Jubilee replied behind her in confusion.

Jumping out at the last second Rogue glanced back at her with regret. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as the doors closed and she didn’t turn away as Jubilee looked at her in frazzled shock.

“Rogue!”

The doors shut and immediately Rogue punched the metal and twisted the doors together so they would be unable to open.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered again, even as she heard Jubilee’s struggle on the other side to get the doors open.

Eventually, her shouts quietened and the hum of the elevator drew her attention as it descended. Releasing a deep breath, she sighed and rested her forehead against the cool steel. And it suddenly felt that she was burning from the inside out, the acid taste of betrayal forming in the pit of her stomach and lingering at the back of her throat. Opening her eyes she glared at her murky reflection in the doors and with resolve punched them once more as she spun on her heel and entered Graydon’s office without another glance back.

It was back to simplifying things. One problem at a time and she was here to resolve an important matter and trivial things such as the feeling of betrayal to a group of people she told herself she’d never associate herself with again was a mindless drivel in the back of her crowded mind.

They’d get over it.

She’d get over it. She always did. That’s what she told herself. Being resilient was one of the little r’s in being the capital Rogue.

Sudden rage ripped through her veins like a burning fire in a pursuit of never ending hunger. Rage at the situation she was in.

Slamming the door behind her, she ignored the main light switch on the wall and sauntered forward as she turned two small lamps on, as dim light scattered around the large room. Graydon’s office was substantial, but not surprising given his arrogance and position. Prestigious artworks graced his tall walls and were accompanied by antique furniture. A long brown couch lined the far wall where a small bar was set up. Ignoring it she focused on the large oak desk.

Skimming her gloved hand along his perfectly set and clean desk she felt it was such a farce to know what evil came to the man’s mind who sat upon this magnificent piece of furniture, like a king seated on his throne.

Knowing it was pointless to check his desk draws, she quickly moved along the walls looking for any indication of a safe behind one of the paintings, but no marks were clear. Frowning she glanced around the room, knowing the safe was somewhere.

She focused on the book case, with its large oak shelves, filled with books of law and science that looked like they’d hardly been touched. Dust settled in a fine layer above their thick covers but she was sure Graydon just figured it added to the authenticity of his kingdom. One particular row however, she noticed had no layer of dust on it, the books appeared untouched though. Dragging her gloved hand across the row she smiled finding his ruse. Pulling the whole fake row of books back, they folded comfortably onto their spines and behind them in the wall was a shiny wall safe.

Reaching forward, she pulled on the handle once and the whole door came off. Throwing the door behind her it crashed into Graydon’s elegantly designed glass bar.

“Oops,” she drawled and focused back on the safe.

Piles and piles of money were stacked in her way, but she paid them no attention as she searched through that which Graydon prized most. Near the back of the safe she spotted what she was looking for. The small diary in far better condition than any she’d seen, with a fine leather hardcover. Dragging it out she began to wonder how it was Graydon had ever been able to sneak a copy out from under Mystique’s nose.

Like mother like son she mused, and now like daughter.
Pocketing the diary in her jacket she turned around and surveyed the damage to Graydon’s bar with a smug smirk.
The com link in her ear crackled to life and she heard Bobby’s voice fleetingly as she took it out of her ear and crumbled it in her hand.

Moving towards the door her steps faltered immediately as the door handle started to twist. A smirking Graydon entered the office in a dark suit, his ginger hair standing out but his sharp eyes glistened white in the varying light.

“I guess I’m going to have to re-evaluate who I hire for security,” his deep smooth voice rumbled through the room as he quietly shut the door behind him.

“That’s what happens when your only requirement is mutant hatred,” she shot back and took one step back as she glared at him.

He chuckled lightly but the noise was only full of a hollow darkness.

“I’ve been waiting to meet you again, Rogue,” he replied and tilted his head as he observed her. “My how you’ve grown.”

“You’ll forgive me if my memories are vague of knowing you.”

The corner of his lips twitched and he raised his chin.

“Yes, well mother dear always did wish to keep us separate,” he spoke bitterly.

She remained silent as he walked around the room. “But now I’ve finally got my chance to speak to you.”

“I hardly think we have much to say to each other,” she bit out tightly, her eyes forever watching him.

He chuckled again and it grated on her nerves. “I think you and I have a lot to discuss Rogue. To begin with, why not start with the most obvious, you breaking into my office to steal something of mine.”

She glared at him. She hated how smug and calm he was, how smoothly he walked around the room, as though his footsteps were as light as air, as though nothing weighed on his conscience.

“You know next time you take on a few of my FOH members you shouldn’t do it so close to home.”

“Where are your henchmen to hide behind right now?”

Graydon shrugged and his eyes focused on his destroyed bar and his thin lips frowned but when he faced her, his eerie smirk was back in place.

“No one else is required when I only want to talk civilly,” he began. “As a mutant you do possess that capability, do you not? Or have I over estimated you?”

He sat down on his expensive couch as though they were in a board meeting and her building anger sparked at his audacity.

“Quiet, I see,” he smiled. “I was becoming a bit worried though when Gambit had gone off my radar, I’d wondered what you’d done to him.”

She tried to hide her surprise, knowing it was an advantage on her part for Graydon to think she’d dealt with Gambit herself, but she wondered what had happened to the thief.

“He did drop by once before his disappearance though, to say you’d been spotted with the X-Men and then I assumed all I would have to do was to wait for something to happen. A chance to negotiate with you.”

“There’s nothing you can say, Creed that will make me think any better of you.”

He laughed again and stood up as he tapped his chin. “I think you’re mistaken Rogue to believe I think anything of you at all.”

“How kind of you,” she shot back.

He cradled his chin and pointed his finger at her. “I am interested in you though. I can’t deny that. Isn’t that how it’s always been though, you always were the one with all the attention.”

A bark of laughter escaped her. “Oh Graydon, you sound like some young petulant child.”

He finally scowled at her, the smirk on his face faltering.

She waited for his retort but he clenched his jaw and his eyes focused on the book case and the broken safe.

“I see you have the diary,” he whispered.

“It doesn’t belong to you.”

His clear eyes flashed to her abruptly. “Who is it who gets to decide that right?”

“I’m assuming you think you’re the one to do so,” she spoke up. “I mean you assume already you’re the man to decide the fate of mutant kind.”

“Which makes me wonder,” she continued. “Why would you hold such faith in the workings that came from a mutant? You failed to inherent the X-gene, Graydon and ever since you were born you’ve been trying to over compensate for that little fact.” His eyes narrowed at her dangerously but she continued. “The book to you is nothing more than false bravado on your part. Believing maybe there’s something in here that will make you stand out, even if it is as a tyrant against mutant kind and then there’s just the fact that you’re a petty and selfish man, who takes his enjoyment out of withholding something valuable to those he feels are below him.”

“Shut up!” he snapped finally and she knew she’d found his button. He stalked around the small coffee table and even though his body was tense with abrupt anger he paused and wearily watched her.

“You aren`t even her blood!`` he snapped and spit flew out of his mouth in rage. ``I wanted to give you a chance Rogue, I could have given you the diary all along if only you`d help me link together the prophecies and now you`ve gone and ruined that chance.”

“You looked haunted Rogue,” he continued. “The circles under your eyes, the confliction beneath your gaze, don’t you want to find out the truth. Don’t you want to know!” he seethed.

“You’re a monster,” she hissed with disdain. “A pathetic monster.”

He yelled at her and open hate spilled out of his eyes as his once handsome face twisted in rage. “You’re all the same,” he muttered. Quickly, he pulled out a hand gun and before she even had a chance to smile at him, he shot the weapon twice. The bullets hit her in the shoulder and although they didn’t pierce her skin, the weight of them had been powerful enough she grunted and cradled her shoulder.

“Hurts doesn’t it,” he remarked. “I had them made especially for you. Asked the bullets to have a bit more oomph if you know what I mean.”

Snarling, she couldn’t believe how callously he’d shot her or the joy he took from her pain.

“Give me the book back since you’re not willing to see reason,” he demanded and shot the gun off once more. The bullet hit her in the left knee and bounced off but the pain was immediate as she dipped to the ground slightly.
“Now.”

“You bastard!” she seethed and charged forward as she caught him in the middle and they crashed back through the coffee table and she wrapped her hands around his throat as she pinned him to the couch.

A sudden roar caught both of their attention as three metal claws ripped through the office door followed by another set and it was thrown off its hinges.

A seething and very pissed off Wolverine stood growling in the doorway, as his shoulders hunched forward and his hands clenched and unclenched. Before she could fully comprehend his arrival Graydon got another shot off and the bullet hit her right in the stomach and she slumped forward on top of him as tears welled in her eyes at the pain, especially at such a close range. He smirked up at her and she reached down and threw the gun away, her hands tightening around his throat again as he weakly struggled.
Wolverine growled behind her, but she noticed out of the corner of her eye his movements were less hostile when the gun had gone off again. His stance became taller as he stepped closer and she knew the Wolverine in him was retreating but she wasn’t sure what had set him off entirely in the first place.

“I should end this now,” she whispered in Graydon’s ear.
Graydon coughed and continued to struggle.

“Rogue,” Logan’s deep voice filtered between the two of them.

She glanced at him wearily as he stepped closer, his claws still out but his eyes had softened.

“What do you want, Logan?” she grated as she felt the mixture of anger and pain spin inside of her, all directed at the man in her grip.

“Rogue,” Logan spoke again with more force. “Let him go.”

She finally focused on him, her eyes wide in shock. “He’s a horrible man, Logan.”

“I’m not denying that,” he replied. “But this isn’t like you.”

Graydon chuckled in her grip and it came out like a loud cough.

“This isn’t who you are,” Logan implored her and she felt his approaching warmth but she could feel Graydon’s constant mocking presence and it played on her senses.
She shook her head and glared down at the hateful man struggling who was smiling up at her oddly.

“Tell him how you got your powers, Rogue,” Graydon laughed with a wheeze, as his eyes darted towards Logan.

Logan snarled at him.

“Shut up,” Logan snapped back.

“I’ve kept my eye on you,” Gradyon continued. “You were always mother’s favourite,” he continued bitterly as his eyes turned dark. “And you turned out just like her, didn’t you,” he coughed again. “A killer.”

“Be quiet,” she hissed in his face as she leaned in and her grip tightened.

“Mystique abandoned me, just like she abandoned you Rogue, I thought better of you even if you were a filthy mutant.”

She could feel the conflicting emotions rise in her, become even more complicated by Logan’s presence and she wasn’t so sure that the tears in her eyes were from physical pain alone anymore.

Graydon focused on Logan. “Did you know,” he wheezed with effort. “She’s apparently the chosen one!” he finished by gazing up at her as his eyes danced with madness and she pulled back slightly, disturbed.

“Rogue,” Logan whispered again.

Her head snapped up at him. “You wanna know how I have these powers Logan, how do u think that came to be!”

Logan was watching her carefully. “I don’t care, Marie,” he whispered. “Let’s go.”

“You should care Logan,” she cried back. “I absorbed another mutant woman permanently and you know where she is now - SIX FEET UNDER!”

Graydon wheezed with laughter again.

She looked away from Logan not willing to see his face.

His warm hand suddenly touched her shoulder and she jumped and tried to pull back but his grip became tighter.

“How did it happen, Marie,” he whispered in her ear, his voice calm as though they were somewhere else, somewhere safe and alone.

She refused to budge and she felt a tear slide down her face. His gloved hand reached up and tilted her chin towards him. She looked down and gasped, “It was an accident.”

He nodded.

She glanced down, her focus dazed. “She’d attacked me and she wouldn’t let go, I couldn’t – I couldn’t get her to let go...” she whispered and her eyes focused on Graydon, her grip around his throat and she pulled back as though she was suddenly on fire.

Logan caught her and pulled her up right as Graydon stumbled to the ground, coughing as he rubbed his throat.

“Let’s go,” he whispered in her ear and she nodded slowly, feeling his solid body pressed against her back.

Turning her, they made their way towards the door when Graydon yelled behind them.

“You stupid bitch!”

Shock ran through her body as he held the powerful gun in his hand again, he shot twice and she pushed away from Logan. Running forward she felt a surge of useful strength as she caught Graydon in a fierce grip and they tumbled back through the glass.

“Rogue!” Logan yelled behind them, as the glass shattered and the night air rushed around them.

Holding onto Graydon as they fell through the sky she focused on the pockets of air that swarmed around them as she changed direction at the last moment before they plummeted to the ground, she felt a small bit of clarity seep in as she flew through the air.

The rush of air burned against her cheeks and her eyes blurred briefly before all evidence of her tears dried against her cheeks but the howling of the wind followed her as an eerie reminder of the unfinished business behind her.

Sitting by himself in the kitchen by the large bay windows, Logan enjoyed the surrounding darkness keenly as it kept him hidden and alone. His forlorn eyes kept peering up through the windows towards the night sky for something more than the blinking of the stars.

Chomping down harder on his lit cigar he sat back in his seat and took a long drag. The orange ashes burned brightly and the smoke billowed up around him like a shield.

A delicate hand on the other side of the room grazed the wall and a few lights flickered to life as Storm found the switch. He ignored her, even as she paused and noticed his shadowed form. She moved on silently towards the fridge. Grabbing a small glass she pressed it under the ice machine and Logan cringed as the pieces of ice one by one, clanged against the glass, the sound echoing in his head familiarly as the image of Rogue and Graydon crashing through the window flashed under his eyelids.

He hissed low as he reached for the cigar and blew more smoke out, his eyes back on the sky.

Storm’s movements were silent after she’d filled her cup with juice and he bristled at the fact she was still in the room watching him.

“You could at least open the window if you’re going to smoke that thing in here,” her quiet serene voice floated towards him.

Not even grunting he crossed his arms and tilted his head as he eyed her from his corner of solitude. Storm was sitting at the island in the middle of the room, her eyes downcast and drowning in her glass. Her voice had been calm but the expression on her face was anything but serene.

“She’ll be back, Logan,” she whispered.

Puffing on his cigar his eyes slide back towards the sky.

“Do you think I should have made her stay when she’d wanted to leave?”

Sliding his chair back, he stood up and dragged on the cigar once more, before putting it out in his palm, a small hiss escaping through his clenched teeth as his skin sizzled and then healed.

Stepping towards the light that circled the island he approached the other woman.

“Is there something more particular you want to hear from me,” he muttered and he sighed afterwards realizing how harsh his words seemed.

Opening the fridge he glanced at the back and pulled back a hidden beer. Popping the cap off, he turned and regarded his friend. “’Ro, we can’t change the past.”

Tipping the beer back to his lips, he took one generous gulp. “You could have tried everything in your way as the owner of the school to try and make her stay but she may have just resented you in the end. She was a young woman, not a student anymore.”

“But you think we could have done something?”

He sipped at his beer and rested his arm above the fridge door. He knew there was something he could have done and it had haunted him ever since, to know that his absence in her life had been a leading factor in her decisions.

“I wish I had of known,” he muttered solemnly. “I wish I hadn’t been so selfish.”

Storm dumped her glass in the sink and she smiled at him in a friendly manner. “I don’t think she saw you as a selfish man.”

He muttered to himself, as his fingers clenched around the beer bottle in his hands knowing the promise he had failed.

Storm approached him softly, her delicate hand reaching up and squeezing his arm gently. “She’ll be back Logan.”

“You don’t know that,” he growled and shook her off as he stood in front of the windows again.

“Logan,” she began her accent more apparent as she spoke clearly. “I know Mystique’s word is not to always be trusted but she voluntarily...”

“I don’t care what that bitch did,” he snarled over his shoulder.

Storm sighed.

“Maybe it doesn’t, but if you need something more than Mystique’s actions, then believe that Rogue has realized her mistakes as have you. She knows the cost she paid in leaving without a word to you; I don’t think she would jeopardize that again.”

He finished his beer and he heard Storm turn and leave.

“What if all I get is a goodbye?” he whispered.

“Then you will have to make peace with that,” she replied back, her voice low. “We all will.”

She slipped out without another word and although, her words had sounded crestfallen he knew it was the truth he would have to face.

Slamming his beer on the counter he stalked out of the room with sudden intent.


***


“I take it from the level of tension you’re putting out at this moment Rogue hasn’t dropped back in.”

He snarled at Mystique as she lounged on the bed reading a magazine inside of one of the observation rooms in the lower levels.

Stalking up towards the large clear glass panel between them he glared at her.

“Get up,” he growled.

Gradually, she threw the magazine down on the bed and she slithered forward towards the panel, her blue hips gliding with each step.

“You’re really wasting valuable energy, Wolverine,” she replied and smiled wide. “Rogue will be back. Why else do you think I volunteered to be locked up until you’re satisfied?”

Flaring his nostrils at her, he pulled a metal chair up towards the panel and sat down.

“That’s if she doesn’t get caught cleaning up your dirty work.”

Red lips pursed together as she eyed him. “Yes, well I’m sure Rogue and Graydon have things to work out amongst themselves.”

His scowl grew darker as he thought back to walking in on Rogue and Graydon fighting. The surprise at finding Rogue with her hands around his throat, combined with witnessing Gradyon shooting her and the tears of pain in her eyes had been enough to rein back the animal in him and realize his anger was directed at the wrong person.

“Did you tell her to kill him?”

Mystique’s eyes widened in surprise and she chuckled, the sound grating on his nerves.

“Answer the damn question.”

“No, Wolverine, I did not tell her to do any such thing.”

“Besides,” she started by sighing dramatically. “I’m not sure what kind of power you think I have over her, but Rogue makes her own choices and even I have to deal with the fact that she’s not....” she paused and licked her lips. “Controllable.”

“You’re not the only one she annoys with her unpredictability.”

He smirked at her. “It’s good to know she gets under even your skin.”

She glared at him. “She gets under yours too, Wolverine.”

He nodded and sat back with a small smile. “But I kind of like it.”

Mystique scoffed at him. “The two of you will never work.”

Quirking his head he regarded the suddenly unnerved mutant and he realized she feared losing Rogue. It was unsettling that the corrupted mutant before him exhibited fear like any other person.

Instead of walking into her little game of bitter retorts, he ignored her last words.

“Why is it that you and she work, Mystique? What makes her stay with you?”

“Jealous?” she smirked back.

“Interested,” he replied. “I remember the young woman who felt fear after Liberty Island, who turned that fear of you into anger and strength and who wasn’t willing to back down to you and Magneto when we saw you again. “

Mystique’s yellow eyes narrowed and the smirk slowly disappeared.

“Rogue might have hated me at one point, I’ll admit that but she never feared me, how does it feel to know that?”

“Shut up,” she snapped back. “You think you’re given a few inside notes to our lives and you think you have it all figured out.”

He smiled at her with bared teeth as he picked up on her insecurities.

“Who was the woman who attacked Rogue?”

Mystique’s head whipped around quickly to face him. “You can ask her when she gets back.”

“I already asked and I got what I could from her, which tells me it has something more to do with you.”

The blue mutant turned her back and made her way towards the bed.

“Go and find someone else to blame for your failed relationship with her, Wolverine.”

Standing up he watched her for a moment and realized he was going to have to place a small amount of faith in the traitor before him in believing Rogue would be coming back.

“I hope you like the accommodations,” he muttered as he left.

“I won’t need much time to get use to them,” she threw back.

Oddly, enough he hoped she was right.

“Well isn’t this a nice surprise.”

Standing under the thick tree, Rogue eyed the large man leaning against the rail of the porch cabin discreetly and remained silent as she finished her second cigarette. Her gloved fingers less twitchy as she took a long drag and blew the smoke out through her lips. The rest of her face neutral and calm, the flight over had given her the time to pick herself back up.

Throwing her cigarette towards the ground she stepped into the light and ground her heel down on the butt. The man waited patiently with a large smile.

“What did you bring for me, angel?” he purred.

“Just some garbage I thought you could take care of, Victor,” she replied coolly and hit her fist out against the trunk of the tree.

A rush of sound followed and Graydon Creed fell down into the light, tied up and hanging from his feet. The gag in his mouth drowned out his muffled cries, his eyes widening in fear at the hulking man in front of them.

A feral smirk was her only reply for a moment as Sabertooth’s eyes narrowed and gleamed in the dark night.

“You always bring me such nice gifts, angel.”

Stalking up the steps of the porch she narrowed her eyes at the other man. His shaggy blonde hair was noticeably shorter and revealed more of his face and if it wasn’t for the dangerous gleam that was always present and the fangs that peeked out from under his lips, he could have been a handsome man. But Rogue knew that wasn’t really what attracted her attention with him, it was the animalistic nature he gave off and she wondered what that said about her and the men she was attracted to.

Victor for his part liked to tease her and wasn’t shy about his opinions of her but two things kept him from stepping over the line, Mystique and Logan. The first one was far more understandable, he was slightly afraid of Mystique and what revenge she would dish out. With Logan she wasn’t so sure, despite the times she’d seen the two men fighting, Victor professed an odd sense of honour towards the Wolverine and for some reason she fell into that category.

There was the added fact that Sabertooth wasn’t a good guy, and that was an easy enough reason to keep her distance.

Victor drew one long claw down the porch railing. “Hello son,” he spat and Graydon struggled further against his binds.

She noticed the gleam in Victor’s eye and spoke up, “Do what you want Victor, but we need him alive.”

Shifting his gaze Victor almost frowned at her playfully before glaring, his lips peeling back in a snarl. “Why do you tempt me then?”

Scowling at him she placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t get pissy with me,” she snapped back. “We need him around when everything he’s done is leaked to the media. I know you don’t care much for mutant and human politics but the punishment and shame Graydon will receive from the public, from his peers and his benefactors will be worse than death for him.”

Victor stepped closer and the shadows danced along his body, making his figure all the more looming but she remained still. His hand came up and cupped her chin as his skin was protected by her hair.

“You’ve become too rational, angel,” he purred. His nostrils flared. “You’ve been back with the X-Men I see.”

Her eyes flickered and she knew her clam facade had broken for a moment but Victor let go and turned back around as he descended onto the first step, his eyes on his son with disgust.

Victor breathed deeply and his whole body moved as his large muscles flexed with power.

“I see the runt is still a coward.”

“What’s that mean?” she snapped, knowing as the words left her lips she should have remained quiet.

Victor glanced at her, his eyes slits and cat like in the darkness.

“He hasn’t claimed you yet.”

She snorted and sauntered down the steps past him.

“Mystique will be in contact with you, to pick him up when the time is right.”

“Don’t go away angry, angel,” he whispered behind her and she turned around in surprise at his low tone.

Watching him wearily he stepped closer and straightened his body up into a less dominating pose.

“There’s so much life pulsing beneath your skin, a raging flood of anger,” he purred and sniffed the air around her. “You’re becoming your mother’s daughter every day.”

She pulled back as though hit and he watched her with surprised eyes. Put off by the attention she glanced away.

“Good bye, Victor,” she stressed through clenched teeth.

“Don’t be shy, angel,” he replied. “I will be seeing you and the runt again.”

She looked at him in shock and he laughed suddenly, a deep throaty laugh that echoed throughout the forest.

“Don’t be so surprised, Rogue,” he purred again. “I will be waiting to see what the Wolverine does.”

She glared at him and shook her head in disgust, annoyed by the way he always assumed so much with her, like he already knew everything there was to know about who she was.

Walking forward into the dark abyss of the forest before her she turned back briefly to glance at the isolated cabin where Victor was standing in front of a struggling Graydon with a feral look. He laughed unexpectedly again and his voice echoed around the woods, “I hear you’ve been a bad boy, Graydon.”

Rogue lifted up into the night as Victor slipped the gag out of Graydon’s mouth and as she flew away his scream followed her for the first two miles.


***


Slouching in one of the Professor’s old lounge chairs, Rogue dangled one leg over the other as her fingers grazed along the chess board beside her. Picking up the white queen in her hand she sighed and glanced at the antique clock on the desk that she knew was now Storm’s.

It was early morning and no one was aware of her arrival, after sneaking into the Professor’s old study through the brand new window they had installed.

Putting the chess piece back on the board she ideally touched various pieces as her mind drifted.


“You’re getting exceptionally good at this, Rogue,” the Professor complimented her.

Glancing up shyly she nodded at the older man who was seated on the other side of the chess board. Moving a black piece along she waited for him to make his next move.

“It’s more Erik then me, really,” she muttered.

“Do you really think that is so?”

She smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders, her eyes wandering briefly through the window where she could see most of the students taking advantage of the good summer weather as they played games in the fields.

“I never touched a board until after Liberty Island, Charles,” she replied and glanced down at the use of his name.

The Professor was patiently silent as she spoke and he resumed his focus on the chess board.

Moving one of his pieces along he spoke again, “There is something to be said, though, Rogue, that you find Erik’s knowledge of chess useful, otherwise it would have disappeared.”

“The people I touch don’t ever disappear, Professor,” she replied more strictly her eyes focusing on him.

He nodded slowly and his gaze wasn’t condescending as he watched her. “But they can fade over time,” he replied soothingly. “Perhaps it is another function of your gift to be able to pick up on useful skills from those you touch.”

She scowled at the word gift but he didn’t notice. “Then why is it that I remember the nightmares, Professor?” she asked as she moved another piece on the board. “Why is it that I remember the smell of burning bodies in the concentration camps and the sound of their screams and their cries when everyone my age reads about it safely off of a page? Why do I remember what it was like to be used by humans, to have my skin pierced open and hot metal poured in? What skill have I gained?” she voiced bitterly and glanced back out the window.

She waited for his humble words of hope but he surprised her when he spoke again, his voice more direct.

“Do you wish me to tell you things you already know, Rogue? How unfair it is that your friends and your teammates do not understand the wisdom you have gained when you only appear eighteen. That, that wisdom is both a curse and a blessing.”

She snorted.

“Rogue,” he voiced more deeply. “You gain perspectives others cannot even begin to know or are willing to understand. The power and the choice that lies in you is to decide what you do with the knowledge you gain, no matter how dark, or how powerful.”

Her gaze moved from the chess game and focused on his suddenly earnest and open eyes, his voice almost trembled as he spoke. “There has been a great lot forced on you so quickly, Rogue and I cannot change the way things have happened for you and neither can you.”

“You paint a pretty picture, Charles,” she retorted and she waited for him to make his next move but he didn’t as his attention was still on her.

“In the end Rogue all you can do is persevere against the challenges that come your way. Show those that wish to swallow you whole with their darkness that there is always hope to be gained, even if you have to dig deep for it.”

“Alright, Professor,” she whispered slowly, confused by the sudden vigour in his voice.

“Rogue,” he whispered.

She glanced up at him with a timid smile.

“I cannot guarantee you control of your skin.”

She frowned. “I know,” she remarked bitterly.

“But I can help you learn to adapt your power, to learn what is important, what is a benefit for you and not a hindrance when you must use your skin.”

She nodded slowly as his words sunk in.

“Can we please continue playing?”

“Have Erik and Logan not both provided you with views of the world you never thought to explore before?”

“Yes,” she muttered and fiddled with the queen on the board. “But I thought that was exactly what made you all afraid of me.”

The Professor backed up and wheeled around the game as he moved in front of her and reached for her gloved hand.

“It is hard to understand sometimes where fear comes from,” he began. “But the decision will always be yours in deciding who you will be. The threat of a foreign personality invading your mind is a very possible reality and will always be a trying experience but I don’t doubt the strength I see in you even so young. The resilience to remember who you are. That will always be the answer Rogue, but I promise you as long as I’m alive I will make sure I will be there to drag you back but someday you will have to learn to rely on yourself in that matter.”

“Since I’ve been running away, I’ve been relying on myself,” she muttered.

He looked at her sadly for a moment. “One day you will understand what I mean.”

He moved back around and she noticed his gaze landed on his book case for a moment and he looked lost in thought. Finally he moved back in place and moved his next piece.

“Some fear you Rogue, because of your skin but some also fear you because of what you know and could know and others fear you because of the strength they envy you for.”

“I’m not a hero, Charles,” she replied.

“That’s not fair to say,” he answered back with a small smile. “You’re life isn’t mapped out for you yet.”

“Sometimes you’re too hopeful, Charles.”

Her eyes snapped up to his immediately as her mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry,” she stuttered, knowing how much she had sounded like Magneto.

“It’s quite alright,” he responded as he glanced back at the game. “You agree with his opinion of me, that’s nothing to be afraid of. If you feel though, that the things you say are never truly how you feel, then I will quite readily accept your apology.”

She was silent as she sunk back in her seat ashamed.

“Rogue,” he voiced lightly catching her attention. “In this place I don’t want you to think you have to believe in the same things as everyone else. It is important to have people like you who will always be willing to get back up and question the way things are.”

She nodded slowly and took her turn.

“Hope though is not always as easy as people think. It is far easier for people to go down the road of destruction. Hope doesn’t come any easier to one person than another.”

“I know about how things aren’t easy,” she replied flippantly and glanced up but he only wore a warm smile.

“Yes, I know you do,” he glanced down at the board as he paused. “But it looks like you won this game.”

Looking at the board she smiled at him. “Thanks,” she murmured.

“For what?”

“For,” she began and stuttered. “For taking an interest in me.”

His smile flickered for a moment as it grew and he nodded.

“You’re a special person, Rogue and I won’t be the only one to see that.”

She began to reset the board.

“And don’t worry, Rogue,” he began softly with a small twinkle to his eyes. “Logan will be back soon enough.”

She blushed suddenly as innocent heat blushed her cheeks.

“I didn’t mean to pry but you were projecting your concerns so loudly.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s no secret I care about him everyone knows and they...”

“And he cares about you just as much,” he interrupted her. “Now, let’s see if I can earn some respect back with this next game.”


Knocking the black king over, she waited patiently, her eyes wandering around the familiar walls, the recognizable touches that had been all Xavier’s. The only changes apparent were the few potted plants Storm had placed in front of the windows. His presence still loomed within the foundations he had built.

But he was merely a phantom, a wisp of familiarity that would catch her off guard at times.

She stared at the chess board as though she could make it disappear by blinking. She stared at the empty seat across from her as though with a flutter of her eyelashes she could make a man appear.

She hated knowing the truth Xavier had hid from them all. She hated the consequences of his actions. She hated knowing three of her friends were buried somewhere on the ground with fresh soil and flowers; a mockery of the truth. A pretty picture they had all painted when really there’d been nothing left for them to bury, nothing but ghosts.

She hated that he had left her.

And she hated knowing that was what hurt her most of all.

Sighing deeply, she picked the knocked over king back up and switched one leg over the other. The craving for a cigarette was kicking at her nerves quickly, the back of her tongue bitter with taste as she fought the urge. The air in the room was thick with an invisible disapproving feeling.

Cracking her knuckles, she glanced back at the door and sat back slowly as the door handle turned.

“Rogue,” Storm gasped in surprise.

“Good Mornin’ ‘Ro.”

For a moment Storm flustered and quickly she reined back her surprise and once again she was the perfect image of control and calmness. Rogue had always envied her ability at appearing so serene. Perfect white hair that never had a loose end even in the aftermath of a battle.

She knew that it took a lot of control on Storm’s part in learning to keep everything in balance, but even so she hated to think how she paled in comparison.

“I’m sorry if I startled you,” she began as Storm remained quiet. “I didn’t want to cause a big scene.”

Storm moved around to the desk and placed a few folders down that she had been carrying.

“No more planes to drop out of,” Storm spoke, but her smile was amused.

She smiled in return, surprised at the non-level of animosity from the other woman, after she’d taken off.

“Flying these days is kind of pricey,” she sassed back.
Storm nodded and sat in the chair behind the desk. “I appreciate you coming to me first, Rogue.”

“Well, I figured I owed you some answers.”

Storm pursed her lips together. “I believe you’ve owed the X-Men some answers since the beginning of this little mission.”

Rogue nodded lazily and glanced around the room. “But you still went ahead with the plans anyways.”

“Would you rather I had doubted you and treated you like a stranger?”

“It might have been safer,” she replied bitterly.

The white haired mutant stood up and approached the empty chair across from her, her tall body slipping into it sleekly.

“No one was injured; Rogue and we got what we needed.”

“And that’s enough?”

“There’s nothing more I would want then for you to feel comfortable enough with me to tell me what personal stake you had involved with Graydon, but,” she paused for a moment in reflection. “After the dust has settled, the world hasn’t ended and you don’t seem to be the cause Rogue, so the only way I will ever want to know what happened when you left Jubilee, is when you feel you can tell me as a friend.”

Rogue glanced away and murmured, “That simple, eh.”

Storm replied after a moment. “Doesn’t seem like there was anything simple about this for you.”

Getting up Storm moved towards the desk again. “Was it really such a hard thing for you to face the reality of coming back here?”

“If I was runnin’ then I never should have come back to this place.”

“But were you really running away, Rogue?” Storm asked delicately.

Looking up into the weather witch’s eyes she held back a breath as she whispered, “I don’t know.”

In reply, Storm nodded at her and sent her a comforting smile. Picking up the phone on the desk she pressed a few buttons and held the phone up to her ear.

“Yes, Hank, I believe you can release her,” she spoke into the phone without any further instruction and hung up.

“Mystique?”

“Yes,” Storm replied with an unusual smirk. “She volunteered to remain locked up until you arrived, in case we thought she was playing us in any other way and well,” Storm shrugged suddenly leisurely. “I was all for that.”

A small laugh escaped her as she thought about Mystique sitting in the lower levels. “She can be such a pain in the ass.”

Storm smiled at her but her eyes held a sadness to them.

“You want to ask me why, don’t you? Why I’m with her and not with you?”

“Will it do me any good?”

“If you want the honest truth, it really was all about timing.”

Turning away from the desk Storm walked over towards her plants and her fingers ran over the bright fertile leaves.

“My invitation will always stand for you, Rogue,” she whispered with her back still towards her. “There will always be a space for you here.”

Rogue watched her in the sunlight and she felt a sensation of warmth fill her at gazing at the older woman she’d considered at one time to be such a powerful anchor in her life, in being a mentor, a teacher but even an equal, a friend.

“I’m not sure everyone would agree with you on that,” Rogue voiced slowly. “I’m sure I’d have to pass a few tests to prove myself.”

Storm’s shoulders hunched a little until they rolled back as she tilted her neck and her eyes were on the sun.

“There are people here who care deeply for you.”

“Besides,” Storm continued as she turned around. “I’m the overseer of this school and the X-Men.”

She smiled at the other woman’s sudden firmness and sly look, she half expected a bolt of lightning to crackle outside the window, but the sky was still bright with the morning sun.

“You’ve done a good job you know,” Rogue replied. “Xavier would be proud.”

“Thank-you.”

Storm walked back towards the desk. “I would offer you some tea but I have a feeling you won’t be staying that long.”

Caught off guard Rogue glanced down at her lap. “I’m sorry.”

The other woman sighed. “I suppose I should thank you for the lead on Graydon. From what Kitty has deciphered from his hard drive he was up to more than just the sentinel program. His mutant hatred had large ambitions.”

“You think you will have enough to destroy his reputation?”

“Yes,” Storm replied. “I believe we might even gain some mutant sympathy once we show what the Friends of Humanity have been up to.”

“Good.”

“Mystique said you’d dealt with Creed in making sure he won’t be around for a few days to give us time to release everything we have to the media and government without complications.”

“Yes,” she replied and reframed from eye contact. “It was always a possibility he would know what we were up to, he just made things easier when he’d showed up.”

“He’s being taken care of?”

Rogue couldn’t stop the smirk sliding onto her face. “You could say that.”

The door suddenly opened and Mystique briskly entered with a look of boredom.

“Thanks for the accommodations Storm, but Rogue and I must be going.”

Storm glared at the other woman but her eyes focused back on Rogue. The emotion in her eyes almost made her consider staying a moment longer; trying to explain everything further but Mystique stepped closer.

“Have you satisfied their questions, Rogue?’

“Yes,” she hissed back.

“Time to go then,” Mystique replied and stepped out of the way.

Silently, she walked through the door.

“I don’t ever want to see you again,” Storm directed at Mystique behind her.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean,” Mystique replied with a tsk and shut the door behind her.

“We have business to attend to.”

“I know,” Rogue replied dejectedly.

“Don’t start now,” Mystique muttered as they continued walking. “It sure took you long enough.”

Rogue smirked behind the other woman’s back thinking it wouldn’t have hurt to have circled around Xavier’s property a few more times.

“Don’t be long,” the woman in front of her suddenly whispered impatiently.

Confused, she was about to ask why when she spotted Logan pacing in the front foyer. A cold feeling of dread filled her immediately as the trickles of nervousness tightened in her stomach. With each step the prospect of leaving became harder to comply with as her feet dragged in hesitation, despite knowing this was the only way to do things.

A proper good-bye.

And then on to the real world. A world where she didn’t have fantasies about the man who’d saved her life more than once, the only man who never looked at her as though she was a weapon to be used, or just an object to desire or a challenge to overcome. He looked at her like he saw everything, the good and the bad, the broken and the scarred and an odd sense of unknown hope. He looked at her like he saw a grown woman.

She couldn’t hide from his strong gaze, his eyes that were clear with his intent. He wanted her to stay and it broke her cold heart to know it was all too late.

Mystique left through the doors with a smirk on her face to contrast Logan’s snarl and as the door closed the silence swelled around her like heavy smog.

Rubbing her boot into the floor she tilted her head down and waited but Logan was a stone wall in front of her.
Huffing out a small tired breath she glanced up and started with the basics.

“I would say I’m sorry that I took off from the original mission but you weren’t that surprised were you?”

He stared at her intensely, his focus never faltering but his face was unreadable.

“Surprised?” he muttered and shook his head. “No.”

“Disappointed?” she replied slowly.

“You could have just told me.”

Her fingers fidgeted inside of her gloves.

“I did in my own little way.”

His eyes narrowed.

“I couldn’t,” she replied earnestly. “You would never have trusted to leave me alone.”

“I’m assuming you got the other diary then. Had to be what this was all about.” He stepped closer towards her, his eyes dark. “Graydon could have done terrible things to you.”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s a spineless human who...”

“Who created some kind of gun with you in mind,” he interrupted with a raised eyebrow. “I saw the pain in your eyes.”

His hand reached out towards her slowly, his finger tips grazing the bottom of her shirt. She started to breathe deeply as she felt his touch hovering above her. Lifting her shirt up he frowned at the large red mark that hadn’t disappeared from her stomach.

“You should get that checked out,” he whispered as his eyes connected with hers.

She licked her dry lips and his eyes followed her actions.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

A flare of heat moved from her toes up her body at his closeness and she wanted to pull away but her body was failing her in co-operating.

“What about internal damage?”

She shrugged. “I’ve never had any problems before; the invulnerability I absorbed seems to extend to my organs as well. It can’t fully desensitize pain though. I can stop a runaway train by standing in front of it and hardly a bump but Graydon’s bullets were a far more concentrated source of power in a smaller form, the contact is more determined and ...painful.”

His eyes turned fierce abruptly and he dropped her shirt.

“Then stop being so damn reckless when bullets are sailing through the air.”

She scoffed. “Says you who...”

“I HEAL!” he snarled in her face suddenly. “And you can’t, not – not when I’m not there!”

Her eyes widened in surprise at his outburst and she pursued her lips realizing the concern he was unleashing despite his angry manner.

“Logan,” she began softly but he spun around and interrupted her.

“You should have Hank look at you and assess the limits of your powers.”

“I can’t, Logan.”

“Why not?” he snapped, his eyes were wild as the agitation moved through his shoulders.

“Because I’m leaving,” she whispered.

His chest heaved and he ran a hand through his hair.

“I know,” he muttered darkly and reframed from looking at her.

She clenched her fists, trying to call on some hidden strength as she felt her walls coming down.

“I’m sorry, Logan,” she replied softly. “I really am.”

“Then stay.”

“Logan...”

Suddenly, he was in front of her, his body hovering over her but his hands gently grasped her arms.

“What did I do wrong this time?” he blurted out in a hurried whisper. “I tried to fix this place, I tried to make myself a better man even when you weren’t here just so, just so....” he drifted off and his eyes darted back and forth.

“I messed up, Marie,” he spoke up more determined.

His fingers reached up and curled around her white bangs.

“I can’t say I’m sorry for the way I felt for Jean back then and I can’t say I’m sorry for how I was after what I had to do but I am sorry for neglecting you, for not realizing...”

His hand faltered.

“I need, you,” he whispered desperately.

She felt the tears pool in her eyes and a hard voice was screaming at her to pull away but a stronger, tenderer voice told her she’d be making the wrong decision. It was all too complicated again.

Distracted, his hand had reached up to cup her face and she noticed he was wearing gloves.

“I need you with me Marie,” he spoke gently. “I need to be able to rebuild this.”

His eyes bore into hers and she found she couldn’t even blink.

“Don’t you feel that way at all?” he spoke again in an agitated whisper.

“Logan,” she whispered and she felt a tear escape and slide down her cheek.

Gently, he rubbed it away with his thumb.

She turned away. “I can’t do this,” she whispered tightly, the air catching in her chest. “Not now,” she murmured.
He pulled back at her words, confusion settling in on his face.

“Are you saying it’s too late?”

“I just,” she stuttered and shook her head, her eyes squeezing shut as she willed the emotion away. “I can’t believe I can come back here now, Logan, things are different...I....”

“Sometimes things have a habit of tying us down, the choices that much narrower.”

He pulled his hands back in shock.

“You saying, this place tied you down, I tied you down?”

She shook her head. “I’m saying I can’t stay, Logan.”
His jaw clenched and his eyes glazed over with anger.

“I’m saying maybe I regret leaving before, but I couldn’t have waited Logan, I couldn’t have been here doing nothing but wait for you to see me again, my life has to have more purpose.”

He turned away from her, his back tense and his fists clenched at his sides.

She wanted to explain to him how far more complicated her life was, that she had ties to a woman who held the memories to her past life, whose knowledge of the fated diaries were a responsibility she had taken on.

Walking towards the door she paused and waited as she turned the handle but Logan remained silent. Opening the door and slipping out she gave him the one thing she could.

“Goodbye, Logan.”

He made himself stay and listen as the door clicked shut behind her and he heard her fading footsteps retreat down the pathway. He made himself stay, and somehow the punishment just didn’t seem enough. His nostrils flared in the empty foyer and her scent clung to the air around him and his hands clenched tighter in response. The smell of salt on the air making everything that much harder to understand and to accept.

He’d gotten his goodbye and nothing filled the empty hole in his chest.

Snarling, he opened his eyes and stalked forward down the hall way.

He kicked the door wide open and Storm and Hank jumped up in surprise.

“Logan!” she exclaimed.

Ignoring the two of them he made his way around the Professor’s desk and started to scan the book shelves. His hands picking up books and glancing inside of them before discarding them without a second thought.

“Logan, what are you doing?” Storm’s voice drifted somewhere behind him but he was to concentrated in his search, too focused in trying not to completely lose it.

He snarled deeply as he rummaged through book after book. Shakespeare’s works, the works of Plato and several other well quoted philosophers, but nothing stood out of the ordinary, no hidden secrets, and no answers to be claimed.

“Is everything alright, Logan?” Hank spoke up.

Grasping the shelf in front of him, his chest heaved as he took a deep breath.

“Where does the Professor keep all his old files?”

“Logan...”

His head whipped around incredibly fast as he narrowed his gaze on a perplexed Storm.

“I know the two you kept all of his old files, on mutants on whatever else he had going on and I want access to them right now,” he demanded.

Storm swallowed slowly. “Alright, Logan, but what exactly are you looking for?”

His eyes darted around the room. “I don’t know.”

“We haven’t gotten a chance to go through all of his files yet, Charles kept a massive about of information about the mutant world,” Hank began as he pushed his glasses up his blue furry nose.

“I don’t need a pep talk, bub, I just need access.”

Hank nodded slowly. “We’ll have to proceed to the lower levels.”

Logan cracked his neck and stepped over the mass of scattered books.

“This doesn’t have anything to do about Rogue does it?” Hank began. “I’m not sure if I can ethically give you access to her file and...”

Logan abruptly craned his neck towards Hank. “Access now,” he demanded and stalked out of the room.

“I wouldn’t get in the way of things when it concerns Wolverine and Rogue, Hank,” Storms calm voice drifted down the hallway.

“Yes, I see,” Hank coughed. “What exactly was the extent of their relationship?”

Logan scowled to himself as he continued.

“I think it would be best to simply tell you it was,” Storm paused for a moment. “Intense and complicated.”

“HANK!” Logan growled down the hall. “Now.”

Hank’s furry form hurried out of the room and followed him. “No reason to shout, Logan.”

His nostrils flared as he waited for Hank to catch up at the elevator. His eyes on the doors as his nerves twitched, the feeling of having to be doing something was immense. Focus was the only thing that kept him from losing it.

The doors dinged open and they stepped in.

“By the way, blue, if you have any questions about my personal business it be best you stay out of it.”

Hank fumbled with his glasses as he rubbed them on his suit. “Yes, I see now that perhaps it was not the best route to ask Ororo such an intuitive question.”

“Just type in the access codes and you can be on your way, Hank.”

The doors opened in the lower levels and he walked out without a glance back.


***


“Logan, as a word of caution before you proceed with your hurried actions, Charles’ files, now that he is gone really should only be viewed by Storm as she is the legal owner now and...” Hank coughed lightly and pushed his glasses up his nose in a nervous habit. “As the doctor on the premises it is only ethically sound that the two of us have access to these files and...”

“Sorry, blue, but it’s hard for me to believe your little speech when you’re stuttering so much,” Logan growled as he sat in front of the computer in the small storage room.

He smirked as he sensed Hank’s hackles up go.

“Look, Hank,” he began in a less hostile voice. “I appreciate the concern but we both know its bullshit.”

Hank sputtered in protest but Logan continued, “’Ro hasn’t had much time to go through all of Charles’ things even in the past year and a half; she’s been too busy keeping the school and the X-Men above ground. And we both know you’re a busy man yourself, Hank, when you’re looking after the kids or making your trips to Washington, being an X-Men, so all in all,” he turned around in his chair and bared his teeth. “I don’t see much harm coming from me taking a peek around when it concerns things far more important than polite ethics of a dead man.”

Hank’s eyes widen a fraction and before a glare could fully form on his furry face the fight went out of the doctor and he nodded dismally.

“Yes, well I see you have things on your mind,” Hank responded and turned to leave the room, as he made his way around a large filing cabinet. “I’ve already let you into the system, you won’t need any further access codes, but I don’t know what you wish to find my friend. The files are an endless and chaotic mess of information.”

Logan smirked to himself as he glared back at the computer screen. His tongue clamped down as he kept quiet not wanting to discourage the good doctor any further with remarks about how Xavier was good at keeping secrets and that all his actions had a purpose.

Hank shuffled out of the room without another word.

With a focused mind, he proceeded with the endless task of trying to decipher which files were worthless and which ones would pick up a trail.

Clicking through a few documents, he found the records of all of Xavier’s students and X-Men. He spotted his name but suppressed the urge from becoming further distracted. His eyes lit up as he clicked on Rogue’s file and he sat back in surprise as data after data virtualized on the screen.

Leaning in, he frowned as his eyes scanned her information, knowing that Rogue had only given the bare minimum of information to the X-Men when she’d enrolled. He even recalled Xavier smiling at him once telling him it was common for runaways to keep things to themselves and that no one would push them otherwise. A purposed safe haven.

But there are no secrets with a telepath.

It had been a deceitful smile.

Rogue’s real name was listed and she’d only ever freely told him and it felt like a betrayal to know Xavier’s all knowing power had intruded on their little secret.

Her date of birth was listed and several medical records that had been required within the first few weeks she’d been at Xavier’s after her absorption of both Magneto and himself.

Scanning the rest of the file, what followed was nothing but double speak about her skin and even he could tell it was useless information.

Sighing, he back tracked through the records and noticed that while all the other files followed in alphabetical order, Jean’s file followed right after Rogue’s.

Opening it, knowing that after the Phoenix incident Xavier had no longer been able to hide the knowledge of Jean’s power he wasn’t surprised by the endless information of Xavier’s work in creating mental blocks in Jean’s head as a young girl.

Scrolling down he noticed several other links and clicked on the one-labelled ‘Class 5’. A small list popped up immediately of names but he didn’t recognize most of them until he came to the bottom.

Frowning, he opened the one with Rogue’s name.

His eyes wandered back and forth over the screen and he felt the mouse creak in his clenched fist.

The moment Rogue had walked through the doors of Xavier’s school, the man had already been waiting for her. The rumour of a young mutant with the power of absorbing other mutant’s powers and knowledge was hard to ignore.

Reading Xavier’s write up, knowing from the use of language who had written such a personal piece, the man had hypothesized that Jean wasn’t the only Class 5 mutant in the X-Men, that Rogue had the potential as well, through her absorption. If she survived though. Survived being the key word.

Xavier however, hadn’t picked up on Mystique’s involvement in Rogue’s early life but he recognized the name of one Irene Adler and realized Xavier had known all along of the mutant known as Destiny and her valued diaries. No doubt how he’d come to make sure one was in his possession.

The last thing on the computer screen was of an old photograph, a woman with short brown hair with dark sunglasses and a young girl of about five who looked remarkably similar to Rogue.

Marie.

Xavier had put the pieces together over time about Rogue without anyone else’s knowledge, let alone her own and he wondered not for the first time what kind of man had Charles Xavier really been.

Exiting the program, he sat back, stared blankly ahead in the dim room, and realized he didn’t want to know anymore about a dead man’s secrets, good or bad.

His concern lay in the future.

More to the point, in the present.

Prophecies didn’t mean anything to him. He’d make his own damn way just like he always did and he’d figure out how to make sure things didn’t slip through his hands again.

Determination was the one thing he never really failed at where Rogue was concerned.

“You’ve been incredibly silent Rogue.”

“I’m trying to concentrate on not dropping your ass,” she replied back, not glancing at the woman she was flying with.

Casting a side long smirk that she hoped would dismay any further inquiries she continued, “Couldn’t we have borrowed one of those many nice shiny expensive cars they have at Xavier’s for this trip?”

“They’d expect you to be coming back then,” Mystique replied strictly as the air whipped around them.

Mentally sighing, Rogue lowered their position as they dropped down delicately in the middle of the cemetery.

Letting go of the other woman she glanced around the mossy hills filled with gothic looking angels and marble of stone representing the dead.

“You always pick places with character, don’t you, Raven,” she muttered as a chill ran through her despite the shining sun.

Plucking a cigarette from her jacket she popped it in mouth and rolled it back and forth between her lips as she snapped the lighter open.

A slender blue hand appeared in front of her face and grabbed the cigarette out of her mouth. With stern eyes Mystique threw the stick on the ground.

“This is serious, Rogue,” she stressed and continued on up the hill.

“I thought this whole thing has been one serious thing after the other ‘cuz it sure as hell wasn’t a picnic for me.”

Following the other woman up the hill her eyes wandered over the rows of antique names and lives.

“That was just good old fun, Rogue.”

Rolling her eyes, she came to stand beside the other woman who’d stopped suddenly and was staring down at a more well kept tombstone of grey marble.

The name scrawled across the elegant marble burned inside her mind. Irene Adler.

No date of birth or death given. Just a name, but the attention of detail and up keep to the marker spoke volumes that someone still cared about the mutant known as Destiny.

She noticed a stillness to Mystique and she stepped back giving the mutant some privacy as she pocketed her hands inside her jacket and felt the two small diaries.

Suddenly, she found herself wishing for some kind of emotion, wishing she could be more sympathetic to Mystique’s silence. Wishing she was able to express some kind of empathy but there was an open void filled with detachment inside of her that she couldn’t pretend wasn’t there. She wondered not for the first time, how much of a cold hearted bitch she’d become.

It was hard to fathom that the merciless mutant before her was struck by the scenery around them. It was hard to believe Mystique was a woman who helped raise her, who was a brief recollection in her hazy mind that was filled with surprising warmth at times. But then again present day reality would set in and the reason she was so removed at times was because of the same woman; the fact that she’d had her memories altered by Destiny, that she’d been abandoned by them, despite the fact she was told it had been for her own safety.

It was never going to be enough. She was never going to get all the answers she needed.

She felt the hard ridge of one of the diaries dig into her chest and she hoped there was something to be salvaged from her actions.

It was easier to believe the dead woman buried six feet below them was the perfect image of warmth and safety she recalled. No other memories to taint her past. She couldn’t argue with a dead woman about whether or not they hadn’t given her up for her own safety or if they’d just tired of her.

When Mystique had tracked her down after news of the cure had broken out that it wasn’t permanent, she’d been horrifically surprised. Scared even. She was alone in the city of Boston, just making her way along the road, spending a month or two working as a waitress and who should walk in one day but a tall blonde woman with knowing eyes.

Whose eyes stared at the gloves she’d started to wear again fearful of when the cure would finally disappear as it started to flicker on and off. The woman’s knowing eyes that spoke of a comradeship, a path of sameness.

The uttering of the one word, one name, Rogue and Marie was gone again because a ghost had hunted her down.
She’d been vulnerable; there was no point in denying it. It had been obvious to Mystique and the other newly changed mutant had lapped at her crumbling self-hood eagerly.

She couldn’t blame her.

She wasn’t stupid though. She still had a backbone. She still had that edge to her that hadn’t died the moment the poison of the cure had hit her blood stream and alerted her genes. And when Mystique had finally revealed herself, she’d automatically threatened her without skipping a beat.

Intelligence stayed with her as Mystique said her piece. An erased past. Ties newly reconnected. Two mothers who’d tried to protect her from a world that would want to use her.

She’d told the blue mutant to fuck off and Mystique just smiled at her that day, smiled and ordered the number one special and told her simply.

“When you’re powers fully return, you will seek the truth and I will give you my touch freely so you can gain that which you have lost.”

And on that fateful day when her genes finally betrayed her, when the life that danced along her treacherous skin had finally returned and she felt herself crumble a little more inside she’d done exactly what Mystique had said.

She’d absorbed Mystique’s memories and found the life she’d forgotten.

And it wasn’t so easy to turn away. It wasn’t so simple to see Mystique as the enemy because she had no lines to draw, no place to hold herself to.

Someone had found her; someone had come to her and openly admitted to wanting her. Skin and all. No illusion about hopes and dreams, just the after taste of bitter reality and that life isn’t fair.

So Rogue had rolled with the punches. A newfound link. A place to belong with someone who didn’t expect to change her.

When the attack by Carol had occurred, she felt the combined monsoon of Carol’s hatred and her own that she was paying for Mystique’s mistakes take her over and it only allowed Carol more access to her mind and body.
But for the first time Mystique had proved the existence of those restored memories by saving her life, by sticking by her, making sure she didn’t become lost.

Mystique may have a lot of enemies but she had ties and debts to call in that were useful as well. A favour for the Stepford Cuckoos back in the day and Mystique had her under the best telepathic care in erasing Carol’s invading personality.

She’d taken on the duty of recovering the Books of Truth without hesitation because it was something that tied her to a semblance of belonging that wasn’t complicated by the politics of unrequited love or what it was to be a hero. It was simple and straight forward and it made her believe she had a purpose, a role to take on that wasn’t already preconceived by all the heroes that had fallen before her.

It was just her now.

What she always said she’d wanted.

She felt cold despite the calm breeze and she huddled in her jacket as she tried to forget Logan’s face when she’d left.

But she couldn’t hide the pain of his confession even from herself; she couldn’t find the strength to brush it off. Gone was her fortress of solitude and in its place was the familiar spinning of a wheel of chance.

Chance for hope.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she sensed Mystique behind her and knew there were things to be taken care of.

She didn’t bother asking when Destiny had died exactly, she knew that Irene had been weakened by a previous battle and had succumbed naturally to death sometime before her own skin had activated, after lifetimes and lifetimes with Mystique by her side and Rogue had only been a small part of that time, she felt out of place.

“She would be so proud of you Rogue,” Mystique’s calm voice interrupted her.

Opening her eyes she turned around.

“I wish I could remember her more,” she replied honestly, knowing somehow that Irene had been the far more maternal figure out of the two. It was obvious even now that Mystique thought of her as more of a partner then a daughter but sometimes the shape shifter would surprise her with a concerned action or two, or serious threats to the likes of Sabertooth if anything ever happened to her and it made it a little more easier to believe Mystique was capable of caring; in her own way.

“I know it broke her heart that day we had to send you away,” Mystique continued. “She’d been so scared for you, knowing that there would be many people interested in knowing what the supposed child of both her and I would be capable of. She waited all that time knowing, seeing when your mutation would appear only to realize we’d been unprepared for how violent it was and you running away.”

Rogue remained quiet as she heard the repeated tale of shame and regret. It didn’t matter so much to her that she’d had her life altered to be safe, it was a hard pill to swallow knowing the trials she’d been through since being a mutant, since the moment her mutation had violently manifested and she was rejected by the family she thought loved her, only to know that it was all a lie and she couldn’t blame them for feeling horror in knowing what they’d let into their lives now that she knew.

On the road for eight months and she’d learned barely how to play the game of survival even when she didn’t have all the pieces and then Logan had come along and opened her narrowing world, wide open with his rough attitude and his devil may care shrug, that reminded her that the will to get by lay on her shoulders and nobody was going to ever stick around to play the blame game.

And that stubbornness that seemed so much a part of who she was, was enough to get her by, was enough to give her the courage to crawl into his trailer and into his life and she couldn’t regret it.

If she’d stayed with Mystique and Irene despite the family she may have had and acceptance, she may have never met Logan and that thought struck through her heart like a cold, hard arrow filled with truth that paralyzed her to the core.

As she stared down at the mound of dirt over a decade old grave she realized they all looked the same in the end. The Professors, Jean’s and Scott’s, every grave was just a marker of loss and the encroaching door to the past and she didn’t want to feel that barrenness anymore, where the earth below her soaked her down with the buried lives and she knew with sudden clarity she’d forgotten how to view the life around her without the bitterness of the past and the fear of the future.

“What’s done is done,” she murmured and glanced around the open space.

Mystique shifted away from the grave and Rogue was aware of the raw clarity that seeped into the yellow irises and knew the shape shifter’s thoughts were no longer hovering in the past. Rogue straightened her spine and jammed her hands inside her coat pockets.

“Is that your new philosophy then?” the other woman teased her. “You forgive me then?”

Rogue tilted her chin up and knew she couldn’t hide the truth in her eyes, she’d never tried before.

“Does it really matter if I do?”

Mystique pursed her lips and watched her wearily only to smile and step closer a moment later. “I suppose it never does either of us any good to over think these things.”

“Can we get to the point of all this,” she snapped back and was concerned by the looseness of her anger and agitation that was making her bones tremble beneath her hard shell of ambivalence.

Mystique’s eyebrows rose up in surprise.

“Alright,” she replied simply.

Reaching into her jacket Rogue pulled out the diary they’d stolen from Graydon.

“Here,” she motioned but Mystique kept her arms down at her sides and stepped closer.

“What are you doing?”

“What’s the rush, Rogue?”

Narrowing her eyes she huffed and shook the diary in her hand.

“Open it,” Mystique commanded.

“What?” she exclaimed in shock.

“I said open it and read it Rogue.”

Watching the other woman with wide eyes she picked up on the serious and slightly precarious tone in her voice and she felt her guard go up but instead of snapping back she laughed in disbelief. The dam she’d built over time slowly starting to crack.

“Why does it matter if I read it? I don’t really care, Raven. We’ve already determined the books can’t be decoded. We did the job you promised Irene, we recovered them for you to watch over,” she paused as she shrugged. “But that didn’t work out so good the first time either, they were stolen. You did you’re duty and I did mine, so stop messing around.”

Mystique’s expression didn’t change.

“Stop being so blind, Rogue.”

Her eyes narrowed at Mystique’s under laying harshness.

“Blind to what?” she snapped back. “We recovered two of them and now we destroy them, making the last one virtually useless and no more concern about back trapping over past mistakes.”

“This is no longer about the past, Rogue.”

Rogue rolled her eyes.

“Fuck this,” she spat confused by the direction of the conversation. Turning around she started down the hill, she’d only gotten two steps away when Mystique called after her.

“Anna-Marie.”

Her back stiffened and she froze.

Tentatively, she glanced over her shoulder and felt the thick, suffocating presence of a lifetime ago calling her back.

Mystique approached her.

“All I’m asking is for you to read the diary,” Mystique began calmly. “It is your birth right,” she continued trying for a smile that only made her nerves fill with caution.

Rogue nodded slowly and glanced at the book in her hand.

“I don’t want to.”

“What are you afraid of?”

“Why aren’t you afraid?” she snapped back. “Why are you doing this?” she whispered desperately.

“Because Rogue, you always run away when things get tough or too real and I won’t let you walk away from your potential future.”

“What?” she gasped and stepped back as she regarded Mystique in new light. “No,” she seethed as realization swept over her.

“You said this was never about that!”

“I lied,” Mystique replied calmly. “Not exactly though, you’re right that it was never my original plan to use the diaries but Rogue,” she paused and tried for a relaxed smile that only made her eerie yellow eyes bleed with greed. “That was before you told me about the dreams.”

Rogue stuttered and stumbled back as she felt the need to distant herself from the woman and the truth of the matter.

“If the diaries cannot be accessed then obviously it would be best to destroy them from stopping future thieves from possibly decoding them but we can’t ignore the fact that you’ve been having the dreams, that when you read Irene’s words, it awakened something inside of you. It was always a possibility and you knew that.”

Rogue balled her fist as she felt anger at herself in believing Mystique had the capacity to do the right thing. She’d been a fool and all along everyone had known it, because she was always making the wrong choices. Mystique may have never pressured her to live up to an ideal or judged her but she’d trapped her all the same with her ambitions.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” she snapped back. “I told you. I don’t understand these entries anymore then you do.”

“But Rogue, you were always going to be special, don’t you see that?”

“Shut up!”

“We picked you from such a young age already knowing you’d play an important role in the future of mutant kind.”

Rogue’s head snapped and she glared at her. “That’s what it was always about wasn’t it, just waiting to use me. You didn’t want a child, you wanted a tool you could shape and use!”

Mystique didn’t reply back and she felt the fury rise in her. “You always pressured her didn’t you,” she yelled. “Destiny could see the future but you were the one with the ambition to make it come true. It was an obsession of yours, that potential for power and it corrupted everything you touched.”

When she remained silent, she knew it was true.

“She did question my intentions with you,” Mystique replied steadily.

A hollow laugh broke through her trembling lips as she shook her head. “Well she was right; I mean you handed me over to Magneto like a pig on a silver platter minus the apple, just for his dream of the future.”

“It wasn’t the way I would have liked things to have gone.”

“No?” she repeated bitterly. “How was it supposed to end, Raven?” Lifting the book up in her hand she motioned violently. “How is this supposed to end? You think I’m going to unlock some magical secret that may or may not come true just so you can turn the world to your whim?” she paused as her voice grew steadier. “No matter the consequences on me, on anybody else.”

“You may have the gift to foresee, Rogue, how can you ignore that?”

“Because,” she spat tiredly. “I know when the price is too high and I won’t go down this path for something that isn’t even set in stone, for something that I know in the end I probably won’t survive and will end in destruction. This isn’t the way to live a life.”

``And what life do you want for yourself? To be an X-Men, to be another patented soldier...”

“I won’t go down this path,” she interrupted. “I don’t want to have to worry about having everything mapped out for me. It just doesn’t matter anymore.”

She sighed, feeling tired, defeated and empty inside as the truth of Mystique’s intentions slapped her in the face.

“You know, I wasn’t stupid, I always knew what working with you would mean but even you surprised me about this,” she whispered. “The one thing that tied to you to a sense of morals. The duty you accepted when Irene died and you’re willing to abuse it all just for some foretold power. Didn’t you learn anything from Magneto, from the Phoenix? Power just corrupts.”

“You have the chance to be someone, Rogue to...”

“Just stop,” she snapped, realizing how blind Mystique was. “I don’t care about any prophecy. Where does it say that this cursed skin brings me anything more than just power! Where’s my promise of control!”

She gripped the diary harder and felt the binding snap.

She turned away as she felt the tears blur her eyes.

“I gave you a chance,” she whispered. “And you ruined it all the same, you proved everyone right. I don’t understand you.”

“Oh, please Rogue,” Mystique snapped with sudden authority. “You’ve never wanted to understand this world. You’ve just always been blowing through it as fast as you could, as destructive as you could without seeing the big picture. I gave you direction, purpose and an outlet for that confused anger!”

“And did I make you proud, Mother,” she seethed over her shoulder. “Is it time for me to give you something in return for the honour you’ve given me. I hadn’t realized I was supposed to thank you and be in your debt for walking into my world.”

She turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” Mystique yelled.

“Away from you.”

“You think they will accept you again, you think he will!” Mystique called after her.

She paused and turned around.

“I saved your life, what did Wolverine do but break his promise.”

“The difference is he doesn’t hold it over me. He doesn’t expect servitude.”

Mystique glared at her.

“You’ll be back,” she huffed confidently and Rogue watched her silently and almost felt a small amount of pity for her, knowing it was all a front. Mystique actually would miss her and although it wouldn’t be in the capacity of a mother’s love, she knew their relationship was the closest the other woman had ever come in some time in acknowledging another person.

“We just expect different things out of life, Raven.”

“What?” the other woman snorted and mocked her. “Love,” she spat.

“Maybe,” she smiled and shook her head. “Just something more than this and I’m sorry that you can’t understand that.”

Mystique’s face twisted into a nasty snarl. “Emotions are for the weak.”

“You don’t understand,” she replied. “In the end if tomorrow the world ends all I want to know is that those by my side recognized me as an equal.”

Mystique’s snarl turned into a smirk. “And what happens when your precious X-Men reject you again? You’re better than them, than...”

“I’ll find my way on my own terms,” she replied confidently and lifted into the air as she felt the heaviness of Mystique’s presence leave her.

“Rogue!”

She quickly turned away and sailed up higher as Mystique became a blue dot and she flew away.

The crossroad had been presented before her and suddenly it had been so easy to see the mistakes she’d made with Mystique just as she had made with the X-Men. She relied too heavily on deciding who she was on their terms. As the wind caressed her face she felt a heavy weight lift off of her shoulders and although she was hurt, although she was angry and mad, the cloud of confusion that always seemed to hover around her appeared lighter.

Smiling a little even as the tears glistened in her eyes, she burst forward and tumbled through the air as she had no real path before her but for the first time she felt a moment of freedom.

Sitting in the darkness of the calm night, she actually considered whether or not she was trespassing. A few hours free of Mystique’s presence and she was suddenly back to being a consciousness citizen again. Wrapping her leather jacket tighter around herself, Rogue huddled against the antique bench and stared ahead at the three stone markers, that stood strong and proud among a batch of Storm’s blooming roses.

Her misty eyes trailing from each name to the next and back again.

Summers, Xavier, Grey, until they became nothing but an endless blur.

Closing her eyes, she tried to remember, tried to recall their faces, any recollection that wasn’t tainted or bogged down by the politics of being an X-Men, of being caught in a war of raging philosophies.

Exhaling, she released some of the tension in her body and relaxed her grip on her jacket as she felt no longer numb but simply tired. And as she breathed in through her nose, the sweet scent of Storm’s fresh roses clung to her senses and blocked out her memory of the smell of the fresh dirt they had laid upon the three graves sometime ago.

One day they had all been there and the next they were gone.

And then it had been the end of the world.

And she’d left them all to go and make a choice of her own and ever since then her thirst for independence was stained with a selfishness she couldn’t hide even from herself and it was so much easier to be cocky and to be angry then to admit the pain and the mistake.

Cure or no cure. What she kept inside of her was the regret in knowing she hadn’t been there for her friends.
Even if she felt Logan had grown distant from her, even if his obsession with Jean had caused her pain before and after her death, in the end she’d let that overtake the nature of who she was. She wasn’t a coward, but she’d run all the same in the end.

Rolling her neck, she kept her eyes closed as Scott’s warm smile danced behind her eyelids, a brief snapshot of a moment when the stern set of his lips had twitched at some joke she couldn’t remember and their Fearless Leader had been unable to remain serious and she remembered as he smiled, how she noticed his dimples and the boyish charm that he hid away because he felt he always had to be strong and in control and she wished she could hear his laughter once again that wasn’t weighed down with such seriousness.

Breathing in again, to keep the tears at bay as she recalled Jean’s sisterly gaze and slight touch to her covered shoulder in the middle of the night, in the kitchen where she’d learn she wasn’t the only one who made late night ventures for ice cream after a bad nightmare. Moments with Jean, where she got to see a glimpse into a woman whose life wasn’t as perfect as she thought and whose gaze she found could be filled with a knowing pain, that she thought wasn’t possible.

And Xavier’s sympathy that had come to erupt a flame of resentment inside of her wasn’t as strong as it once was and as she opened her eyes again, her orbs clear and focused she glanced around the large darkened grounds of Xavier’s and towards the distant mansion with a few lights still on where students were sleeping safely and all she could think was how lucky they were to have a place like this in a world torn between prejudice.

She spotted the orange tip of his cigar in the distance and found herself relaxing further against the back of the bench as soft footsteps approached. The tips of his hair outlined his shadowed form and she waited, feeling the urge to run drained and the act of sitting up straighter and drawing her features together into an inferior look the last thing on her mind.

Her body felt tired but her soul was begging for a rest.

Silently, Logan sat down beside her, his arm resting on the back behind her as he reached up and pulled the cigar out of his mouth. Her eyes followed the animated smoke as it settled into the night and she noticed the bottle of Jack Daniels he’d been carrying in his hand.

It was dark but she could make out his features in the night and she couldn’t gauge his expression but as his legs stretched out she recognized the same tiredness in him. The fight going out in both of them.

“How long you been sitting here?” he asked quietly, but his voice was hoarse with his usual gruffness.

“I don’t know to be honest.”

His chin dipped slightly as he nodded.

“Saw you a half an hour ago, but wasn’t sure if you’d been here longer.”

“You been watching me?”

“I had the bike gassed and was gunna start with that mutant bar. Figured, maybe if I pushed Pyro around a bit he’d give me some clues.”

She smiled a little, picturing that confrontation in her head.

“Well, no need to pop the claws and draw blood, you’ve found me.”

He nodded again and dragged on the cigar again.

“Why are you here?” he asked and she sensed the hesitation in his voice.

She shrugged.

“I needed to think.”

“Couldn’t have picked a more up-beat place?”

The corners of her lips twitched and she smiled slowly.

“I needed to remember some things as well.”

“I thought that was part of the problem,” he replied, and although his voice didn’t rise, she caught the bitterness.

“I don’t hate you, Logan.”

He tilted his head and faced her with a raw seriousness she found oddly endearing.

“You sure?” he asked with a scowl and turned away.

She heard the bottle of whisky swish around in his hand.

“Maybe, I don’t want to have to say goodbye, Logan.”

The creased scowl on his face vanished and she felt the sensation of his fingers twitching in the air behind her back and she leant back and felt his fingers still as they clasped her shoulder.

“Want a drink?” he murmured after a moment and his voice sounded rough and unused.

“No, I think I need to be aware of how hard reality is right now, as I just got my ass handed to me by it.”

He snorted roughly and pushed the bottle away from them along the bench.

“Where’s Mystique?”

“Do you really want to know?”

He glanced at her again.

“I want to know why you’re here.”

She smirked.

“I was just thinking about possible designs on rebuilding the shed,” she remarked as she glanced in the far distance at the still ruined remains.

Logan didn’t even blink and she rolled her eyes as she felt an odd airiness fill her, a giddiness that made her head and her heart feel lighter even as the reality of her life settled in, but for once she had a moment, a moment to breath and be still, without trying to find the most destructive way to get things done and it seemed right that Logan was by her side.

“I don’t know where she is,” she whispered. “And I don’t care.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” she asked in surprise and watched as he searched for the words.

“That it didn’t work out between you two.”

She couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing but the expression on his face remained sincere.

“What?” she gasped.

He shrugged. “Just because I hated her doesn’t mean I wanted you to suffer, Rogue. As much as I didn’t understand it, it looked like maybe there was something important there.”

She sobered up immediately, the laugh catching in her throat as her eyes grew wide in fascination.

She knew what he was getting at. Another betrayal to add to her long list of ruined relationships.

But Mystique showing her true colours had not been a total loss. She watched Logan, and lingered on his face and the strong line of his jaw and the stubble that lined it and she didn’t feel the loss as much as she thought she might.

“Logan, what if one day your past comes and finds you?”

“I’ll deal with the consequences,” he replied stiffly, but there was a resolve in his voice she couldn’t recall, the urge, the need to hunt for his past had been laid to rest. “But I won’t be running away from the future.”

She nodded and glanced down.

“This place gives you enough?”

“No,” he responded with intensity in his eyes as he faced her that caused her to remember how to breathe.

“Oh,” she muttered and her eyes drifted towards the graves.

“I only found this place because of you and I only ever came back for you.”

She waited for the old argument to peak up in her head, that Jean had been why he’d come back but she stared forward and realized that some things where gone and buried and there was no point in bringing up dead insecurities.

“I don’t know who you think I am, Logan.”

“I ain’t one for talking a lot, I know that,” he began and rubbed the back of his neck. “But with you...it’s always been – You make it okay for me to rage against the world. You make me feel things, both good and bad and you always showed me how to question things deeper, how to be more than just angry and considered an animal, but as a man, as someone who can take part in this world.”

“You made me want to be a part of this,” he continued as he glanced up at the mansion. “You made me learn how to be grateful, how to care more than about just myself and when you’d left – you made me learn what it was to feel regret and shame. You were and are the person who showed me I could be more than just an animal.”

His claws slowly slid out.

“More than a weapon and even more than just a hero, but a man, just a person,” he whispered low.

Reaching over, she laid her gloved hands on his wrists and tenderly grazed his skin and she watched quietly as the claws slid back in.

Nodding at Xavier’s grave she spoke up and couldn’t hide the crack in her voice, “He use to encourage my attachment to you, said I kept you grounded, I think he knew it was the same for me. Who better to watch over the girl with killer skin than her adamantium immortal knight?”

Quickly, she looked up at him, realizing the harsh sarcasm that had leaked out with her last words.

“That’s not what I meant, not really,” she stuttered and sighed. “It was the same for me, Logan. You were my best friend and.....” she trailed off and looked away. “And I loved you.”

Her chest ached for a moment, but she felt relieved to finally say it, knowing it wasn’t anything earth shattering, but that she’d never actually told him.

His fingers reached up behind her shoulder and his gloved hand trailed the back of her neck and she arched into his touch.

“I was an idiot,” he replied.

And she laughed lightly, as she felt her eyes sparkle as she acknowledged his open stare.

“I was too afraid to accept what was right in front of me, so I ran.”

Leaning towards him, his other hand linked with hers as his cigar dropped forgotten towards the ground.

“I think I know something about that,” she whispered and licked her lips out of habit as his eyes followed her motion.

Tenderly, he pulled the green scarf loose from her neck and swiftly he leaned down and captured her lips in a searing kiss between the delicate fabric. The warmth of his lips trailed along hers eagerly and she opened her mouth as she felt the restrained eagerness of his actions flow into her. The taste of his cigar lingering in his mouth only infused her want as she reached up and ran her hands over his neck and through his hair. He appeared unconcerned by the threat of her skin and she felt him breathe in deeply and growl low as she knew the scarf was saturated in her scent.

He pulled her leg up over his lap and she slipped a little, but his strong hands latched around her back as he drew her tightly against him and she surrendered herself to his solid support.

Her eyes fluttered closed as she was overwhelmed by the sensation of having Logan kiss her. It was such a strange thing to be finally faced with a truth she thought was never possible. Even though, she knew the life she had had most recently fallen apart, her mind was thankfully clear as Logan touched her and cradled her with such want that reflected what she’d seen in his eyes during the past few days, that made the decision to not think too hard, to not question all the more easier.

“Marie,” he whispered against her lips and hesitated suddenly, but she didn’t want him to worry about remaining proper with her and she kissed him again so hard, that she was the first to break apart as she gasped at both their combined intensity.

She slipped though, as her back came in contact with something hard digging into her and she sat up quickly.

She looked at him sheepishly, as his brow furrowed in an amusing mixture of questioning and annoyance.

Reaching around, she picked up the two diaries that she’d laid out beside her, her hand trailing along the hardcover of Graydon’s copy.

Logan’s hand came up and cupped her chin.

“Maybe that was too fast.”

“No,” she smiled wide.

His eyes focused on the diaries and he drew his hand back.

“What are you going to do?” he asked wearily.

Spotting, his still lit cigar on the ground she reached down and picked it up. Opening up the first book, she dangled the burning end above it.

“You were always so concerned about your past; I was so concerned about my future,” she spoke clearly and set the burning end of the cigar against the pages and watched as the thin and delicate old pages of inked words burned quickly and turned to ash. Dropping the crumbled burned mess on the ground she stepped on it and did the same with the other copy.

After she was done, she faced him and was amused by his wide eyes of shock.

Leaning in, she touched his cheek and smiled at him. “I can’t tell you how the world’s going to turn out, but I’m willing to try and make sure that we won’t be alone.”

Smiling he leaned in and buried his nose in the crook of her neck.

“That’s all I want,” he whispered back.

It was her promise to him.

It was the first time in a very long time; she had awakened slowly and comfortably. The cotton like fuzzy feel that trapped her mind was pleasant as she opened her eyes and blinked at the rays of sunlight that scattered around Logan’s wood floors. Stretching out her legs, she burrowed her face deeper into the plump pillow and inhaled; the familiar scent of Logan washed over her and made her body hum with excitement.

No hangover was present; no incessant pounding in her head was heard as she relaxed further. The absence of a fever induced sweat from dreams was nonexistent.

She murmured her satisfaction and closed her eyes, but then a warm gloved hand reached up and dragged along her arm and settled firmly over her stomach. She smiled and twinkled her toes in contentment.

Logan leaned over her and buried his nose in her locks of hair.

“How do you feel?” he asked huskily in between a small growl as he inhaled her scent.

Her spine tingled and she pulled her knees up as her back side melded tighter against his body.

“Good.”

His hand lazily caressed her stomach over her t-shirt.
Turning over quickly, she smiled at him and trailed her gloved hand up his chest over the white cotton of his trademark tank top. Resting her head on his chest, she trailed her fingers along the corded muscles of his arms and admired the firm and tanned skin. Her bare leg skimmed across his sweat pant covered legs and she hooked her feet between his warm covered ones. It felt nice.

She felt the heat rise in her cheeks as she thought of the night before and buried her nose in his chest, to stop the small giggle building up in her from escaping. Falling into bed with Logan had been the first thing in a long time that hadn’t required any necessary thought.

It had surprisingly been uncomplicated and to the point, just fucking refreshing. It had felt familiar and safe, despite the fact it had been their first time.
Years of pent up emotion and frustration on both their parts, and energy and anger spent on twisting each other’s words and trying to keep up barriers just seemed like a waste of time now.

She’d told herself, she hadn’t wanted him. That she no longer cared and the words had ringed out through her mind like a constant merry-go-round, a repeated mantra that was supposed to protect her but only ended up infuriating her more, spinning her world more and more off its sturdy axis.

Feeling without words was something new for her, especially with Logan. She never thought she’d ever get to show him with her body what she felt for him.

And she knew for Logan that he never thought he would have been able to express himself with words so easily, as she recalled his whispers between the sheets, of promises and love that made him feel vulnerable at times but he was finally no longer afraid about the intense bond between them and what it meant. She could feel it confirmed with the ease of his relaxed caresses.

Logan’s firm fingers trickled along the small of her back and her spine tingled pleasantly all over. The tingle became a hum of satisfaction as she closed her eyes and recalled the memories that brought the foreign relaxed smile on her face.



They’d made it easily up the stairs towards his room, the mansion quiet and dark as everyone slept waiting for the next day to start while she felt her world starting anew even before dawn approached. Staring along the hallway she spotted her old room down the end and was caught up in an odd feeling of nostalgia that no longer scared her.

“Marie.”

Glancing back at Logan, she saw the hesitation in his eyes as he stood waiting in front of his open door. Smiling warmly she walked past him and eyed his room as he shut the door behind them. The moonlight bathed his familiar room with cool light and exposed the bed.

“You can have the bed and I will...”

She turned around slowly and reached for Logan’s hand and pulled him closer. Where before his suggestion of sleeping separate might have caused her to question herself, she knew he was only trying to remain polite. And somehow that act of politeness only reconfirmed the uncertainty that hung in the air between them. His eyes darted away from hers and she bit her bottom lip to stop herself from full out smiling at the restraint he was showing in trying not to push her into anything. Somehow they’d switched places over the years and Logan’s hesitation only urged her on further. Trailing her fingers up his arm she pulled them closer to the bed.

“No need to be a gentleman, Logan,” she whispered between them and looked up at him with an effortless smirk.

His gaze darted back to hers but her words hadn’t helped in any way to clear the doubt away from his eyes.

Glancing down she fiddled with one of the buttons on his plaid shirt and realized that appearing overly confident was just as much of a lie and only caused him more restraint. Because the new stranger Rogue was overly confident, the Rogue who had lied and worked with Mystique and took off whenever, used bravado to throw everyone else off even if it was a facade to hide behind at times. There was no reason to hide now.

Reaching up, she slowly dragged her gloved hand around his neck and smiled at him with a tilt of her head. And even though his gaze was still closed off no insecurities flared to life inside of her, because she knew he wanted her and she knew he cared. The question of what was next lay in her hands and delicately she knew it wasn’t something to play with.

His fingers tightened on her waist and pulled her closer as his nostrils unconsciously flared. Leaning in she kissed him quickly before her skin could react and dropped down on the bed, pulling him with her. Laying on her back she gazed up at him expectantly, but his feet remained on the floor as he leaned over her.

“Logan,” she whispered breathlessly, her fingers reaching down and caressing his large Indian head belt buckle as she undid it and the button next.

His hand grabbed hers as she pulled the zipper down. His hazel eyes clear with want but his lips remained firm and thin.

“Marie...” he struggled.

She shook her head and shifted up and kissed his side burns, her lips brushing past his ear.

“We both want this Logan, we know that but,” she paused and licked her lips. “This is my choice.”

His hands began to move up her back and she felt the tension ease out of his body.

“Your choice as well.”

His nose trailed down her mane of hair and burrowed into the hollow of her neck.

“We’re both free,” she whispered into the darkness.

Her voice was breathless as she felt the emotion herself, knowing that without a doubt that what she wanted without complication, without worried pride and fear was what they could give each other at this point in time, as the scattered pieces of their lives finally fell into place.

The soft fabric of her scarf trailed along her jaw as Logan brought it up and his lips crashed down on hers suddenly with a frenzied amount of lust and need. His frame leaning over her further as she felt her body sink into the mattress as they both trailed their hands over each other. Ripping his plaid shirt off, she palmed his biceps and his chest over his tank top with adept attention, filled with an urge to explore every inch of him. A growl vibrated between them as his tongue dulled with hers and she arched suddenly as she felt him press himself further against her and in response her legs immediately wrapped around his hips.

“Oh, Logan,” she gasped as his lips trailed along her neck quickly and he bit her suddenly through her shirt along her collar.

Her eyes rolled up and back into her head at the sensation of his tongue darting out and licking the mark affectionately. She rocked against him desperately as his actions became more focused with each grunt and moan that escaped them both.

Slipping her hands under his shirt she trailed them up his firm back harshly and he hissed as her nails made an impact through the thin fabric of her gloves. The feral gleam of lust in his eyes, in return bleed out openly at her actions.

She squirmed against him ecstatically as he overwhelmed her with pleasure, reaching up she trailed her teeth along his jaw with playful nips and his hands grabbed her backside closer as they both lost themselves within the sensation of each other.

“Marie... Jesus,” he gasped.

She smiled playfully and pulled back as he quickly reached for a condom by his bed.

Slowly, one claw slid out from his right knuckle and she waited eagerly, her body humming in sweet anticipation.
Leaning in he kissed her again thoroughly with a feral gleam shinning in his eyes that made the pit of her stomach flip.

“I’ll buy you a new set of pants, darlin’,” he mumbled breathlessly against her lips.

He delicately cut a slit in her pants and underwear.

“No problem, sugah,” she mumbled as she kissed him back quickly. “I was thinking about getting a leather pair anyways.”

A deep growl rose in his chest and she laughed passionately as he nipped at her neck. All the chaotic thoughts vanished as he entered her and she cried out as she felt her senses one by one became numb to the continuing life around them as she centered her world.



“That tickles,” Logan grumbled sleepily, his chest rising and clearing her mind to the present.

Lifting her fingers up from the trail she’d been drawing on his lower hip between his shirt and pants she reached other and squeezed his other hip.

She felt his chest rise again and then his awakened body was suddenly tense.

She sighed. “You’re worried I’m not going to stay.”

Her eyes focused on his open closet doors, oddly focusing on the work boots that lay on their sides as she waited for a response.

“I haven’t really given you a lot of reasons to trust me.”

She sat up with an unattractive snort and faced him in disbelief. His eyes were wide and waiting but the conviction was set in the clenching of his jaw.

“Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?” she huffed, the words catching in her throat as a million things propelled forward in her mind, particularly the fact that she was no saint but Logan appeared ever the martyr.

“You saved my life,” she stated finally, her eyes drawn on the curtains of the sunny window.

“And then I abandoned you,” he replied firmly, his voice lacking any clear emotion.

Gripping the crumbled sheets beside her, she heaved a heavy sigh before resting her head on her knees.

“You think I’m just waiting to repay the favour?” she whispered tiredly.

His hand settled on her back but he made no other movement.

“You mean again.”

She whipped her head around and stared at him in surprise. Her mouth hung open as she wondered why he was trying to pick a fight. But his face remained stoic and passionless and she felt the air around them thicken and she realized he was only doing the right thing by trying to reaffirm the ground they’d come to stand on the night before. Even if she hated his methods.

Turning away, she drew her knees closer to her chest. “I can’t lie and say you didn’t hurt me, Logan.”

“You seemed so far away at times, like a different person, a shadow of who you were.”

“And sometimes it hurt even more to know, that people thought the only reason things weren’t the same between us was because of Jean...she was my friend too, and sometimes Logan, some of us here knew her better than you ever did,” she finished firmly with her chin held high. “And the knowledge that it was your love for Jean that came between us only cheapened our friendship, all of our friendship.”

“I didn’t hate you for loving Jean. I was happy for you in some way, the fact that you found someone you could communicate with like that, make you feel that way even if I didn’t understand it or sometimes want to, even if it hurt me.”

“Marie...” he whispered heavily.

She shook her head and continued. “It was never about that, it was never so superficial.”

“I know that,” he replied.

“But in the end it was just the space I felt, the emptiness. You were trying to be someone you weren’t, going after Jean even though Scott was around; it just didn’t feel like the you in my head.”

“Marie,” he repeated as he reached up and grabbed her chin to face her. “I thought I loved Jean that way, I made myself think she was the reason I found how to feel that way, but it was just a lie.”

He turned away and stared straight ahead. “You made me feel the possibilities of being an actual person again, but you were so young and I didn’t want to understand. I didn’t want to mess it up but I did anyways.”

Leaning over, she rested her head on his shoulder.

“I messed things up too,” she exhaled deeply.

“No, darlin’,” he responded as he shook his head. “You were only protecting yourself.”

She smiled wearily and played with the sheet in front of them.

“I don’t have a lot of regrets,” she began softly. “I don’t know how that makes me sound and I can’t tell you that some part of me wasn’t proud for leaving, for finding out things for myself but...”

“I wasn’t there for you in the end as well.”

He shifted quickly and gazed down at her.

“What are you talkin’ about? You tried, you were the only one who knew what I needed, after – after what I did and even after that I turned you away and...”

“I wasn’t there for any of you,” she interrupted with an odd fond smile and grazed her hand down his neck and over his collar bone.

“Yes I was angry about no one understanding my need for the cure and yes, they were wrong but I was wrong too, I was wrong because I was selfish.”

He grabbed her hand. “No one knows what it’s like to have your power, Marie; they have no right to judge you.”

“I was selfish because I left when I could have been needed. I should have been there. I should have been standing beside you all at the battle.”

He opened his mouth and she leaned up to kiss him suddenly, a quick peck as she pulled back and whispered,

“That is my regret, Logan and I can’t change it but I can give things a chance again.”

Still holding her hand the stern look of his face vanished as he pulled them both back down on the mattress.

“I looked for you, you know.”

She waited for any kind of satisfaction to overtake her, some young foolishness that would take hold of her for knowing Logan had gone searching for her but she only felt a bit of tired remorse.

“I’m sorry.”

He chuckled lightly. “No you’re not.”

“Excuse me?” she sat up again, her mouth wide open, her
eyes alight but Logan only smiled up at her.

“You needed it darlin’, you said so yourself.”

She tried to object but he reached up and yanked affectionately on her white bangs and pulled her back down beside him.

“Next time send a few postcards why don’t you, give me a least some peace of mind.”

Shaking her head playfully she replied, “Maybe you can come along next time.”

“Sounds alright by me.”

Resting in his arms, she revelled in the calmness she felt and the strength she felt beside her and marvelled at the way things could shift so quickly, for better or worse.

“Marie, I just want you to know...”

Lifting a finger she placed it on his lips before he could finish and looked deeply into his warm eyes. “I know,” she replied lightly. “I do too.”

Leaning down, she caught his nipple in her hot mouth through his shirt and he hissed in pleasure. Her eyes were mischievous as she looked up at him.

“Think of yourself as an adventurer, sugah, exploring new found territory,” she paused as she trailed her mouth down along his stomach, her hands kneading the muscled flesh of his arms. “You ain’t one to shy away from such a thrill, now are you?”

Her eyes darted up at him and he simply raised one eyebrow.

The playful look in her eyes traveled down her face and stretched her red lips wide in a smile.

“There’s always a few bumps along the way, but who the hell wants smooth sailing,” she finished with a drawl as her hand skimmed along the edge of his pants.

An eager growl was all the reply she got and the only answer needed.

His muscles were pumping as he ran through the edge of the forest, his senses awake and aware as he raced through the lush overgrowth of the mansions grounds. The sweat that glistened his body was already cooling him down as he gave one final push through the trees and jogged to a slow stop beside a suddenly flustered Storm.

“Logan!” she gasped as she steadied her hand around her cup of coffee and her other one clutched her chest in surprise.

“Breathe, ‘Ro,” he responded as he approached the stairs of the small kitchen patio.

Her fine eyebrows screwed together in confusion as he smiled ruefully at her and ran a hand through his hair, the trademark peaks catching at the end of his fingertips.

“Morning,” he spoke when she continued to stare at him.

Giving her a minute, he leaned over the railing and glanced at the rising sun. The after affects of his run vibrated through his body pleasantly.

“Morning, Logan,” she replied as she finally collected herself but he could tell from her tone she was still put off.

He figured he’d let her figure it out for a few minutes as his eyes scanned the grounds, his mind traveling to the young woman he’d left in his bed earlier. He wasn’t sure of the last time he felt so attentive and alert to the world around him, he felt refreshed and he knew Storm was wondering the same thing.

He thought about brooding a bit after he’d left Rogue satisfied in bed. Thought about trying to think and question about how everything came to work out in some way for him but he couldn’t wipe the roguish smile off his own face. She’d come back to him. Come back home and it was what she wanted.

That little piece of the woman he knew who was just his Marie was alive and vibrant and was in his world again and even though he knew it was going to be a new tentative ground for them, he was up to the challenge and the Wolverine was no loser.

“Is everything alright, Logan?” Storm asked wearily breaking into his train of thought.

He turned and smirked at her. “Fine.”

Her eyebrows rose up comically towards her white bangs and her eyes bulged.

“Logan, I know things didn’t work out exactly but...”

Her eyes dropped to the floor and her shoulders sagged with her own sadness and he knew it was time to get her out of the dark.

“’Ro,” he began but a voice interrupted him.

“There you are.”

Turning he smiled at the southern tang as Rogue approached him and snuck in under his arms.

“Rogue!”

Rogue smiled tentatively at Storm and nodded. “Mornin’ Storm.”

“Rogue, you’re...” Storm began only to excitedly drift off as her eyes darted back and forth between himself and Rogue.

Setting her coffee down on the railing firmly, Storm smiled at them both and stated, “I’ll get you both some breakfast.”

With that she turned on her heel and briskly walked into the kitchen with almost a skip.

Rogue eyed him in concern, her hand then coming up and blocking out the sun.

“Is it just me or did the sun suddenly get brighter?”

Laughing, he pulled her closer.

“That was really less eventful then I thought it was going to be,” she murmured as she glanced back at Storm through the kitchen.

“She’s just happy that’s all, not a lot to be happy about around here lately.”

“A lot of work to be done,” she replied looking up at him.

“We’ve gotten by,” he shrugged.

His hands tightened on her waist, knowing how much he’d only been getting by.

Rogue nodded slowly.

His nostrils flared and he tilted his head towards the kitchen.

“It smells like she’s cooking up a feast.”

“I don’t deserve that.”

Gazing down at her he kissed her temple. “Maybe, but she does.”

Slowly, her head tilted up at him in her familiar intuitive way and an open smile was directed his way.

“You guys have done a really good job.”

Her eyes drifted towards the still dilapidated shed and she frowned.

“I suppose I should really work on some new plans for the shed.”

“Yeah, maybe one that’s invulnerable to you.”

“Very funny,” she replied and mocked punch him in the shoulder.

“I’m sure we can find you plenty of things around here to do that you’re talented at.”

“Oh, yeah,” she replied playful and leaned in to give him a quick kiss. “Seems like I’ve already found one thing.”

His eyebrows rose up at her implications. “Yeah, but darlin’ only I get those benefits.”

She twisted out of his grip and headed towards the doors, with a shuffle of her hips she smirked at him. “We’ll see.”

Growling, he pounced after her and caught her around the waist as she laughed at him.

“Breakfast will be ready soon,” Storm called.

Rogue stilled in his grip and eyed the plates laid out on the table as Storm provided breakfast.

“It shouldn’t be this easy,” she whispered.

He squeezed her reassuringly. “But it is, so let it go.”

Tapping his cheek she replied warmly, “When did you get so insightful.”

“When I opened my eyes to the possibilities,” he finished with a shrug not caring how sentimental he appeared.

He waited for her to object, knowing that one night would not be enough to drag down all her walls but with a blink of her gorgeous eyes she simply nodded at him and smiled as she moved to sit at the table with a newfound ease.
The last bit of the tension he’d felt still somewhere buried inside of his body after the run melted away and he sat down beside her with relief.

“By the way,” she started as she reached for a glass of orange juice. “I ran into Bobby and Pete earlier.”

He was unable to hide the low rumble of an aggravated growl.

She shrugged effortlessly. “They weren’t a problem not really,” she paused and laughed briefly. “Pete hardly batted an eye in surprise but Bobby…well I think that will take some time.”

“It won’t if the ice-prick knows what’s good for him.”

Ignoring his outburst she rolled her eyes and continued,“Jubilee caught me in the halls and I’ve been ordered to a sleepover tonight with her and Kitty.”

Narrowing his eyes at her she merely laughed.

“Don’t give me the puppy dog look, it’s one night.”

He pretended to look mildly offended.

As Storm laid a plate in front of Rogue, he reached over and grabbed a sausage off of it before she could complain.

“I thought I was the only one you had sleepovers with.”

Raising an eyebrow at him, she rubbed the dribble of sausage juice from his lips. “But we don’t sleep sugah.”

He felt his body responded to her sugary drawl and her touch, their eyes locked on each other but Storm suddenly dropped his plate in front of him.

Sitting down the weather witch sat across from them with an amused smile.

“Thanks, ‘Ro,” Rogue replied over the table.

Storm shrugged but the smile remained. “No problem, I’d hate to think what Logan would have come up with if he’d attempted to cook.”

“You know ‘Ro, if these eggs weren’t so damn good, I think I’d be offended.”

Feeling a realm of contentment he knew he was regularly paranoid of, he simply let himself ride it out and as he glanced at his friends, his teammate to his lover, all he could think was it was a good beginning to a great day and it was as effortless as that, and for once he wasn’t looking for a fight.

Walking steadily through the woods of the school grounds Rogue ducked behind a bush and glanced over her shoulder curiously. Sighing, she looked at her watch and knew it would be dinner time soon, her absence would be noticeable, something she was getting use to. Glancing back over her shoulder she only saw the trail twist around a corner and in front of her was only the thickening trunks of decade old oaks.

Sometimes there was no escape.

Curling her first, she continued on for almost ten minutes and finally stopped with noticeable impatience.

“You’re really trying to get on my last nerve aren’t you,” she called out through the trees.

Moving her head from side to side, no obvious movement followed her words and she scoffed and leaned against a tree.

“I know you’ve been following me for the last ten minutes you might as well show yourself.”

A few branches shifted somewhere behind her. Remy LeBeau stalked around a bush and smiled at her while keeping a few feet between them.

“Remy was only trying to make sure you were alone, chere.”

Narrowing her eyes at him she pushed off of the tree and stood in front of him.

He winked at her seductively; every flick of his wrists and movement of his limbs was smooth, it was hard not to notice.

“You come for a rematch?”

Chuckling, softly Remy shook his head with amusement.

“Remy still be sore from da last time.”

Reaching down she pulled out a small object from the back of her jean pocket.

“I believe this is yours,” she remarked as she held up the card of the Queen of Hearts she’d found on Logan’s bed earlier, specifically on the pillow she regularly used.
Remy bowed playfully.

Frowning she threw card back at him. “Get a new calling card.”

He caught it swiftly and flipped it over his fingers back and forth. “’Dis is your card, chere.”

“What do you want Remy?” she asked through clenched teeth.

“Why do you always assume Remy only want something?”

“That’s a loaded question,” she laughed humourlessly.

The playfulness obvious in the set of his smile diminished quickly and she frowned at the shadow that passed over his handsome face.

“What’s wrong?” she found herself asking out of familiar concern.

He flipped the card over again in his hand and pocketed it in his jacket fondly, his eyes drawn away but when he glanced up again, his face was neutral.

“Graydon said you took off,” she stated and held her chin high, wondering what she was risking by talking to him.

Remy rolled his shoulders and nodded. “Oui.”

“Why?”

“Remy....Remy needed some time away,” he paused and smiled at her. “Besides from da latest news on tv looks like Remy got off dat sinking ship just in time. Graydon’s been discredited and so has everything he ever had his hands in.”

“Nice work, chere.”

Crossing her arms she stared at him, openly confused by what she was suppose to feel. She’d cared for the man before her once, maybe even loved him as much as she could, but she didn’t know how to trust him, how to be around him. That knowledge only made her feel a dawning of sadness despite gaining back so much in the last few days.

“No need to be sad on Remy’s fault,” he whispered suddenly, his eyes catching hers as he stepped closer.

“Remy...” she began and hesitated.

“No need for dat,” he interrupted. “’Dis Cajun only came to give you something.”

Her eyes glistened brightly and she blinked at him in uncertainty.

Reaching into his long trench coat he slowly pulled out a small paperback book, barely an inch thick. Her bottom lip trembled as she gazed at the diary in surprise. Tilting her head up, her wide eyes gazed at him in puzzlement.

Silently, Remy pressed the book into her hands and she rubbed her fingers over the cover.

“Why?” she asked breathless after a moment.

When he didn’t answer she glanced back up and asked him more strongly, “Why?”

“You’re worth it,” he replied hauntingly and finished by smiling at her delicately, the tempting smirk on his face replaced with an open kindness and rare vulnerability.

“Remy?” she asked perplexed. “Why now? Why would you...”

“Sometimes there’s honour among thieves,” he began, his red glowing eyes focused on her. “A thief’s actions can be worthy.”

Boldly he reached forward and cupped her chin. “And sometimes there can be faith in old friends.”

“Remy,” she breathed achingly and he dropped his hand and turned around.

“Remy know you be with da Wolf Man, but at least dis thief can say he touched da forbidden fruit and lived.”

“You’re more than a thief, Remy,” she replied in awe as she felt the diary’s weight in her hand.

“We’ll see,” he remarked off-hand and faced her again. “And you’re someone without dat book Rogue.”

“Thank you.”

He shrugged effortlessly, his flashy attitude spilling through his body and face again. “Nothing to it, chere. Might not even be worth anything without any of da other diaries to help make sense of dat drivel.”

She couldn’t help it; she felt a small smile build on her face at his sudden nonchalant attitude as though he hadn’t done something worthy of recognition.

“A warning though, chere,” he began, his eyes nodding at the book. “Some things are meant to stay buried. Things never stand still anyways.”

Her smile faltered and the book felt heavier in her hand and she nodded with a bowed head.

“Word on da street is dat you left Mystique?”

Nodding again, she looked him straight on. “I just needed things to stop for a moment, I wanted a moment to breath,” she replied honestly.

Remy’s gaze wondered down the trail in the direction she knew the mansion was.

“Glad you found da place dat you needed.”

“What about you...”

He interrupted her again by stepping closer and gazing into her eyes. “We had some good times, non?”

“Yes,” she replied hesitantly.

His eyes flickered away, the unique irises of red flashing back and forth hypnotically. “But you were just looking for da fastest way to burn yourself out.”

“Remy’s that’s not...” she tried to begin, but found her own voice trailing off knowing she’d hadn’t been the finest during their time together.

Running into Remy on the streets of New Orleans when she was still touchable, still looking for anything and everything that was different then the life she had, had been exactly what she’d wanted at the time. His charm and obvious edge, not to mention the evident fact that his attitude and habits reminded her of Logan had only fuelled her need to throw herself into their fast and destructive relationship.

And then when the horrible feeling of actual love had started to develop, she’d done the one thing she’d become perfect at, she’d run. New Orleans was only meant to be pit stop like everywhere else on the road.

Months later though, working with Mystique gained her a reputation and it turned out her and Remy had run in the same circles. Well she’d been a moth to the flame, eager to burn as fast as she could with a man who was just as non-sentimental as she pretended to be. Business transactions were the reason she’d never had a chance to run a second time, Remy’s habits as a thief often had them arguing about his loyalties and she’d refused to acknowledge how much he’d hurt her the second time around, but it only seemed fair considering who she was trying to be.

“You were just a Bonnie lookin’ for her Clyde,” he remarked fondly. “And we all know how they ended up.”

“I’m sorry, Remy.”

“Remy, too.”

Grabbing her hand lightly, he raised it to his lips and kissed the fine fabric fondly.

“Da Wolverine can help you heal da pain, Remy only pushed it away for a while.”

“Take care, chere,” he added and started to walk back through the trees.

“You too,” she whispered back.

Turning his back on her, Remy quickly disappeared.

In disbelief she looked down at the last existing diary of Irene Adler, surprised that after everything it had come so easily to her. She glanced up once more in the direction Remy had left but he was truly gone. He’d surprised her with his hidden compassion and she wasn’t sure what to make of what he had given her.

Was this an opportunity to be ignored? Her mind numbed at the possibilities. To glimpse upon the future was a tempting fate, the pursuit of ever-knowing knowledge and power. The prophecies that remained to be deciphered were a holy grail in itself, the gaining of that which is not known. The chance of maybe a new hope, a new prospect and yet her fingers trembled knowing that she herself was like the pages of the diary, a sponge waiting to absorb the vivacity of the world and she knew the price that came with stolen knowledge. The burden that could behold the seeker. The blood that would be shed in the continued pursuit. Even a man such as Xavier had been unable to remove himself from the diary’s presence.

Shivering self-consciously, she hesitated and then finally began to lift the cover up.

As she did, she thought she felt a light breeze filled with the barren scent of burnt sand on her bare cheek and the calling of an inhuman hum in the distance.

“Rogue.”

She jumped and snapped the book shut.

Clutching the book to her chest she glanced over her shoulder at Logan, his face unreadable except for a brief flare of concern in his eyes.

“Logan,” she stuttered.

When he didn’t say anything she knew he’d been listening earlier, she just wondered how much he’d caught.

Shifting around, she held the book out in her hands.

“You sure that’s what you want to do,” he asked in a neutral tone, but his eyes were weary.

Frowning, she glanced down at the book. “I thought finding the books would somehow give me answers, answers to my past, why things happened the way they did. Closer to some ghost of a woman.”

“That’s fair enough.”

Looking up, she knew he was sincere.

“But they only brought me trouble and the deeper I got into it, the less, the less I felt like I knew anything at all.”

“Mystique said I was just running away again. That I was running away from my future.”

Her eyes blurred for a moment and she exhaled deeply. The flashes of her dreams ran through her head, memories of only pain and despair.

Looking up sharply she set her solid gaze on Logan and smiled timidly at him as he waited.

The only future she’d ever wanted was standing right before her and she knew what her choice was so effortlessly.

He stepped closer, his comforting presence calling to her as his scent surrounded her.

Smiling up at him and cradling his cheek she leaned up and kissed him quickly.

“It’s whatever you want, Marie.”

Lifting the book up in her hands she quirked her head at him. “How do you feel about using those claws of yours as a paper shredder?”

One eyebrow rose up in amusement and he deadpanned, “As long as we recycle darlin’.”

Shaking her head as she laughed lightly he surprised her by grabbing the book and releasing the claws in his right hand and shredding the diary in a matter of seconds.

Gazing at the shredded mess on the dirt and grass she shook her head at him. “I wasn’t being serious Logan; we could have waited until we got to the mansion. It hurts every time you...”

He kissed her quickly, her skin reacting as he lingered and she picked up on traces of his happiness, love and relief.

Licking her lips as he pulled back she nodded at him sweetly in understanding.

“Come on darlin’.” He reached over and draped his arm over her waist.

Mimicking his raised eyebrow she glanced again at the shredded paper comically.

He shrugged. “Think of it as compost.”

His grip tightened on her hip warmly and they started walking back. “Let’s get back home, everyone’s waiting.”

Slipping her hand around his waist, she melted against his frame and glanced at him shyly.

“What?” he asked not looking down as they walked.

Kissing his sideburn she replied, “Nothing.”

He grinned at her with a full smile she knew he never released often and saw her past, present and future.

And it was her choice to pursue.